Somebody
by whitewingedsoldier
Summary: He was Nobody to them, but he was somebody to her. He was the dark side to the light of the Keyblade master. Where was he when he hid in the dark? Roxas' side of the story. Includes novelization of some of KH and KH2. [RoxasxNaminé] FINISHED!
1. 00:prologue

By: whitewingedsoldier

Rated: T

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the rights to Square-Enix, Disney, or any of their characters.

**Information:** This chapter was written based on screenshots and rumors focusing on Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+. Since they are not confirmed, the idea is of my own creation.

**Kingdom Hearts**

"**Somebody"**

**Roxas' Story**

_**00/prologue**_

"A Keyblade that unlocks peoples' hearts..." The fourteen-year-old boy with spiky brown hair eyed the weapon lying on the floor, several feet away from him. His companions, known as Donald and Goofy, looked on. "I wonder..." The boy closed his eyes, and then opened them again, his mind made up. With steady steps, he made his way towards the weapon. "Sora?" asked Goofy, but he received no reply.

The boy walked across the expanse of floor separating himself and the weapon, and knelt to pick it up. "Sora! Hold on!" cried Goofy, but once more went unheeded. This time, Donald yelled too. "No! Wait!"

The boy slowly examined the key-like weapon, holding it up above his head. Then he turned to look at his friends, smiled confidently at them, and without hesitation, plunged the weapon into his own heart. He hung there, motionless, a purple-black light emanating from the point of entry. The weapon pulled itself out and disappeared in a flash of similarly colored light.

From the weapon, six bright lights flew—captive hearts. They soared back to their owners, restoring life to them. A heart also flew from the boy's chest, drifting slowly to the girl lying motionless on the floor. Her eyes opened as it returned to its rightful place. The boy, having seen this, smiled with satisfaction and closed his eyes again. He was being engulfed in a golden light. "Sora! SORA!" Donald cried, racing towards him.

The girl lying on the floor, Kairi, rose slowly to a sitting position just in time to watch the boy's body falling in slow motion, arcing gracefully. "Sora!" she exclaimed, jumping to her feet and dashing to catch him, but just as she felt his back against her fingers, he disappeared from view, hundreds of golden lights drifting slowly upwards. "SORA! Come back, Sora!" Donald was shouting in devastation, but they all knew it. The boy named Sora was gone.

At the same time, on the abandoned front lawn of an old and decrepit mansion, something opened its eyes for the first time.

The creature slowly rose, feeling dazed and confused. _Feeling?_ It looked down at itself. It stood upright, at about five feet and several more inches. It had hands, feet, and was wearing what were unmistakably called clothes. There was a black vest, a white checkered jacket, and dark silver pants. Black-and-red shoes covered its feet. On its left hand was a checkered armband, and two rings: black, and white.

Disoriented still, the creature reached upwards to feel its head and found that it had hair, large spikes of it that stood up and swept to the right. It let its hand drift over its face—eyes, a nose, a mouth, ears. Skin. It could feel everything, even the wind, and the heat of the summer day.

"You have awoken." A voice spoke behind it, and it jumped, startled, and turned around. A tall figure wearing a black robe was standing there, but it did not appear threatening. The hood of the robe was raised, but the face of the person wearing it was visible through the shadows. Crimson eyes stared back at the eyes of the creature.

"No doubt, you wonder at my presence here. I have come to take you away...far away, to a place where you can hone your abilities. You are confused, and still uncoordinated, just like the others were at the beginning. With time, you will gain mastery over your body. You will become strong. And then...you will fight. You will destroy as many of them as it takes to gather the hearts."

The creature squinted in confusion. _Hearts?_ "Hearts...they are what every living being possesses," clarified the man, raising a gloved hand to the sky. "The humans and others living in the light, are born with them. The Heartless, created in darkness, steal them for their own. But we, those who lie between, have none. Without a heart, we cannot feel. Without a heart...we do not exist. We are Nobodies."

The creature stood still, absorbing this information into its minute-old brain. _Nobodies..._ "I am building an army of Nobodies. An army that will reclaim the captive hearts for our own purpose. With hearts...we can really and truly exist. No one wishes to live without a heart. If you join me...you will be able to exist," said the man. Although the creature had not been alive for very long, it understood this very well. Some inner mechanism told it that it desperately wanted a heart. It nodded.

"Will you join me?" asked the man, offering a hand. The creature nodded again. "Good." The man smiled in triumph. "But first...you need a name." He held up the hand so that the palm faced outwards, and four letters appeared in front of the creature. They were translucent and large, and had come from nowhere. They spelled out S-O-R-A, and as the creature stared at them, he found that they spelled _Sora_. For some reason, it sounded familiar to him.

The letters approached the creature and began to rotate around him, slowly at first, and then faster and faster until they were a whirling blur. The creature tried not to look. When the letters slowed down and finally came to a halt, they now read something different. They had rearranged themselves and added something new. Now they spelled R-O-X-A-S.

"Take this name. It is yours now," said the man, and the creature opened its mouth, speaking its first word: its new name. "Roxas."

**More to come soon; please review if you would like. If flaming, please try not to rant. Thank you. **

**- White**


	2. 01:axel and naminé

By: whitewingedsoldier

Rated: T

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the rights to Square-Enix, Disney, or any of their characters.

**Information:** This chapter was written based on screenshots and rumors focusing on Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+. Since they are not confirmed, the idea is of my own creation.

**Kingdom Hearts**

"**Somebody"**

**Roxas' Story**

**_01/axel and naminé_**

It had taken Roxas a while, but he had finally memorized the names and numbers of the others working with him, as well as his own number: XIII, thirteen. Dead last in Organization XIII, the name of the group.

The man who had come to take Roxas away was called The Superior, and he was the leader of the entire Organization. Fittingly, he was number I. A group of others progressed down the line, all the way to XIII, Roxas' spot. He had been told that the numbers represented the order in which the members had joined, but he also felt that they displayed the members' skill. Roxas was XIII. Dead last. The weakling.

Roxas was the newest and last member, and had come to learn something in the castle in which they lived: no one talks to the newcomer. In the days that Roxas had been with the Organization, not a single one of them had spoken to him. Other than the first talk with The Superior and a formal initiation, no one had approached him at all. He had gotten used to it, and he didn't mind. He preferred to be left alone.

Ah, wait. There _was_ someone. Up on the higher floors of the castle, there was a room, pure white, where a girl was kept. She was about Roxas' age, if he had an age, and had silky blonde hair that fell over her left shoulder. She was constantly drawing in a sketchbook, and Roxas sometimes stopped by to see her newest masterpiece. She had drawn a remarkable amount of him and of the boy, Sora, and his friends.

Roxas wandered the halls of the castle, heading nowhere in particular. There was nowhere to go. He attended the meetings called each week, and as far as he knew, there was a place or object called Kingdom Hearts, and inside lay the heart of all worlds. The Keyblade Sora used (and which Roxas could also use) defeated the Heartless, which released their captive hearts. The hearts would then return to Kingdom Hearts and increase its power.

The Superior sometimes showed them his emotions, or rather, the remnants of his emotions. The Nobodies could not show true emotion. He was ecstatic about Kingdom Hearts, and obviously wished to spread that longing and excitement to the other members. The more Heartless that Sora defeated, the more hearts that would return to Kingdom Hearts. Eventually, Kingdom Hearts would be used to give each of them, and all of the lesser Nobodies, their hearts back. With their hearts, they could finally exist.

But it was all in Sora's hands now. The Organization could do nothing except hurry him along from behind the scenes. They could not reveal themselves to him until the time was right, and it was too late for him to stop them. All they could do was wait. And the large amount of waiting was sickening Roxas. He wanted it all to end, but didn't know what else to do. He wanted to exist, but couldn't there be an easier, faster way?

Sighing, Roxas flung himself against the wall in the darkened hallway, closing his eyes. "Something bothering you, new kid?" asked a voice. Roxas' eyes shot open, and he looked in front of him to see one of the Organization's members standing across the hall. He hadn't paid much attention when The Superior had introduced them to him, and so could not remember his name. He was taller than Roxas, and older, with flaming-red hair and bright green eyes. Scarlike black markings ran down both of his eyes. His codename in the Organization was "Flurry of Dancing Flames".

"It...it's nothing," Roxas managed to spit out. He did not excel at socializing. _Go away,_ he pleaded, but the other person made no move. "Aw, come on. I could tell something's wrong," he said. "No! It's nothing, really," said Roxas, shaking his head. "And...if there was something, I don't know if I would tell you." "We're all here for the same reason," said the other person, shrugging. "Name's Axel. A, X, E, L. Got it memorized?" He tapped the side of his head. Roxas blinked. "Okay. Axel. Number...VIII, right?" Axel nodded. "Eight, yep."

An awkward silence passed between them, and then Axel folded his arms. "Mind getting out of the way?" he asked. Roxas was mortified. "What for?" he asked. "You're standing in front of my door," Axel explained, cracking a smile. Roxas quickly scrambled to the side, not having been aware of that fact. "Thanks." Axel met his eyes. "Roxas, right? I'll see you around." "Uh, yeah...around," said Roxas, as Axel disappeared inside his room.

_That...was weird._ Roxas shook his head and continued down the hall. _Axel. He doesn't seem so bad...not like the others, who look at me like I'm worthless. He actually seems nice._ His feet automatically took him up to the girl's room, on the second-to-last floor. Out of boredom, and having nothing else to do, Roxas knocked on the white door. "Come in," a voice answered, and he stepped inside.

The girl was sitting in her chair, sketchbook and pencil in hand. "Oh...hello, Roxas," she greeted him, smiling. Roxas nodded back. _I just realized I don't know her name,_ he thought in surprise. _I'll have to ask her sometime._ "I just wanted to say hello," he said. "I don't have anything else to do." "It's fine. Come and look...it's almost finished," said the girl, beckoning to him. Curious, Roxas came to the side of the chair and bent over her shoulder. An image of a clear pool with a rainbow over it was present on the drawing paper there. "What is it?" he asked.

"The way The Superior talks about how it'll be like when we finally exist, it seems like the entire world will be a better place. So I decided to draw what I thought the world might look like when I exist," said the girl. Roxas did not reply. He gazed down at the paper, keeping the image in his mind. _When I exist..._ "You're a Nobody too?" he asked, and the girl nodded. "If I wasn't, I don't think I would be welcome in this castle, living with all of you. I thought you knew," she said. Roxas blushed. "I guess I did, somewhere, but just didn't realize it," he said, and she nodded again.

"Um...I...I didn't...I mean...what's your name?" Roxas blurted, stumbling over his words. "I'm Naminé," said the girl, smiling. "I guess you didn't know that either, did you?" "N-No," Roxas stammered, suddenly embarrassed. Naminé laughed slightly. "It's all right. I didn't know your name until The Superior told me. So I guess we're even there," she said.

Roxas admired the drawing for a few moments, and then Naminé spoke to him, serious this time. "You know, Roxas...you and I...we're different." "Different?" Roxas blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?" "Well...we weren't exactly brought into the world the way the other Nobodies were," said Naminé, frowning. "You know who your original was, right?" Roxas nodded absently, staring at a portrait of Sora on the wall. "Mine was Kairi. When she lost her heart, it went into Sora's body...and when Sora unlocked her heart, he unlocked his too. Ordinarily, when a Nobody is created, the Heartless usually take their heart. But that didn't happen to us...we're special in that sense," Naminé explained.

Roxas stared out the window, watching the heart-shaped moon hovering over them. _That will be Kingdom Hearts someday,_ he thought to himself. Then reality kicked in again and he remembered where he was. "I...guess I'd better get going," said Roxas hesitantly. Naminé nodded. "Okay. But remember that I'll be here if you want to talk," she told him on his way out. "I will," Roxas assured her, and stepped outside.

To his surprise, Axel was waiting for him there. "You talk with her a lot," he remarked, as Roxas shut the door behind him. "I guess," Roxas replied. "Why do you care? You shouldn't be stalking me." "I wasn't _stalking_," Axel protested, following Roxas down the hall. "I just notice you sometimes, that's all. Sheesh." Roxas, with his back to Axel, couldn't help smiling. He turned around to face Axel. "What do you want with me, anyway?" he asked.

"Excuse me for wanting to get to know you better," Axel said, affronted. "We're all in this together...might as well know who you're working with." Roxas shrugged. "I guess," he said again, listlessly. "Look, this would be great some other time, but I'm kind of busy." "Busy? What have you got to do? What has _anyone_ got to do in here?" Axel questioned, stopping Roxas. "There's nothing _to_ do. All we can do is wait. And not even that's enough to pass the time." "Go away," Roxas growled, proceeding down the hall. He desperately wanted to rid himself of Axel's presence.

"No way. You're not getting rid of me that easily," said Axel, following Roxas. "Wherever you're going, I'm coming." "Look, would you—" Roxas whipped around, the Keyblade already in hand, but Axel was faster. He had materalized his chakrams faster than the blink of an eye and had the right-hand one to Roxas's throat. "Careful who you mess with," Axel warned in a low voice. "Someone might get hurt." Roxas swallowed and allowed the Keyblade to disappear. "That's a good boy," said Axel, cautiously putting away his weapons.

"Okay...fine." Roxas sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "If you want to follow me, I guess I'm okay with that. Just...just don't bug me, all right?" "Sounds like a plan." Axel nodded, and Roxas headed for the stairs leading back down to the lower floors. "Where ya going?" Axel asked, as they trudged down flights of steps. "Nowhere in particular," Roxas replied, secretly wishing he hadn't invited Axel along with him.

The pair walked all the way back down to the ground floor and out to the courtyard, where the cool night air blew over them. Roxas tilted his head back to gaze up at the moon again, his blue eyes reflecting its glow. "There's a lot more to you than I thought," murmured Axel, following suit. "What do you mean?" asked Roxas, mystified. "You're...deeper than the others. You think more about things...and you can stop to appreciate what you have...like this." Axel gestured to the sky. "You don't focus on only one thing. I like that."

Roxas shrugged one shoulder. "It doesn't make sense to just focus on one thing. There's so much more around us than just what someone tells us." He looked down the hill at the distant rooftops of the Dark City. "There's an entire universe out there for us to explore. I may not have been around for very long, but I know that I want to see as much as I can. I want to go to places...meet different people. You know? Have you ever felt like that?"

Axel did not reply immediately. He took his time, searching the sky for an answer. "I know exactly what you mean," he said softly, after a while. "I don't like being stuck here. Soon we'll probably be dispatched all over the place, to try and get that Keyblade kid to get more hearts for us. We'll be in control of Heartless...sounds exciting, doesn't it? For once we can boss something around, instead of being bossed around." Roxas tilted his head from side to side. "I guess," he said. It was becoming a favorite phrase of his.

"Axel! Number XIII! Come inside!" yelled a voice, and the two of them turned around to see a figure with a long ponytail standing there. "Who's that?" Roxas asked, bewildered. "Xigbar," said Axel. "Number II. He ought to learn your name...it's not nice to call people by their numbers." He led the way inside. Roxas, after realizing Axel's kindness, followed him.

After a brief dinner and another meeting, Roxas found that he was assigned to the patrol of the Memory's Skyscraper down in the Dark City. Excitement coursed through him at the prospect of his first real mission. After they were dismissed, Roxas headed back upstairs to talk to Naminé about it.

"I don't know...how do you feel about it?" Naminé asked, moving her pencil sideways on her paper. She had asked Roxas to pose for her, and he had done so without complaint. For the sake of art, he tried to answer without moving his lips too much. "I thought Nobodies couldn't feel," he said through clenched teeth. "You know what I mean," said Naminé, in a gently scolding tone.

Roxas forced back a grin. "Well, it's my first job. I'm pretty excited," he said truthfully, and Naminé smiled. "I'm happy for you." His eyes watched the movement of her pencil. "Hey, Naminé...it might sound like a strange question, but did you always like to draw?" Roxas no longer cared about the way his face looked as opposed to how Naminé was drawing it. "As long as I can remember, I've liked to draw," Naminé answered, her eyes surveying her paper. "I've only been here a little while longer than you have, Roxas...you know that, right?"

Roxas shook his head. He hadn't known. "But I guess it makes sense...Kairi lost her heart before Sora lost his, right?" he asked. Naminé nodded. "Exactly. But it doesn't really matter...once we exist...we won't have to be afraid of hanging in the balance between light and dark, right? It'll all be all right..." The pencil moved away from the paper. "Naminé?" Roxas looked up with concern. "No, it's nothing. Just thinking." Naminé went back to her drawing.

Several weeks later, with his new portrait hanging on the wall of his room, Roxas donned his cloak and headed out for the Dark City.

**I already have most of the ideas for this fic down, so updates will go quickly. Review please! Thanks!**

**  
**

**-White**


	3. 02:riku

By: whitewingedsoldier

Rated: T

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the rights to Square-Enix, Disney, or any of their characters.

**Kingdom Hearts**

"**Somebody"**

**Roxas' Story**

_**02//riku**_

A robed figure stood on the sand of a dark, moonlit beach, watching as the waves calmly lapped against the shore. From out of the darkness, a second figure appeared, slowly walking across the beach to the other. A slow, heavy silence passed, and then the first figure spoke.

"You have arrived." Only silence answered. "I've been to see him...he looks a lot like you." This time, the second figure spoke. "Who are you?" "I'm what's left," replied the first figure. "Or...maybe I'm all there ever was." The reply sounded somewhat pained and uncertain. The second figure paid no attention and plowed on. "I meant your name."

"My name is of no importance," said the first figure, in a breezy tone, as though it truly didn't matter. "What about you? Do you remember your true name?" The second figure stood in silence. "My true name...is..." Flashes of memories played back in his head; letters revolving around a newborn body. "Sora."

x x x x x

Roxas swiped furiously with his Keyblade at yet another Heartless, watching for a moment as it exploded in a shower of black remains. He silently cursed himself for accepting the patrol duty. The area in front of the Memory's Skyscraper was one of the Heartless breeding grounds, and since his control of them was less than satisfactory, they seemed to think he was a potential victim. Roxas, being a Nobody, and thus having no heart, would not be life-threateningly harmed but could still have damage done to him.

There were hushed, quick footsteps behind him, and Roxas swung around to deliver a deathblow to another group of Heartless, annihilating them. They were weak, but there were so _many_ of them. Their glowing yellow eyes sometimes illuminated more than the moon above them. It was raining, and although his thick leather robe helped to ward off the rain, when it touched his skin it sent shockwaves of ice through his body.

Somehow, the more Heartless Roxas vanquished, the more there were. When he destroyed one, five more popped up to take its place. When he realized that just the one Keyblade alone would not suffice, he summoned the Oathkeeper and Oblivion and got to work. There couldn't be _that_ many Heartless, could there? And even if there were, the fighting would keep him in shape. He couldn't say that his mission went badly.

But just as Roxas raised his Keyblades, prepared to destroy more Heartless than he ever had in his relatively short life, his eye caught a glint up high, at the top of the skyscraper. Heartless forgotten for now, he looked up, the rain obscuring his vision slightly. When he saw what the glint belonged to, he had to fight to keep his jaw from dropping. There was a _person_ at the top of the skyscraper, and their long, silver hair was giving off the light.

As Roxas watched, the person at the top of the skyscraper tilted their head back and flung out their arms, welcoming the rain onto their face. The ends of what appeared to be a blindfold fluttered in the breeze, and Roxas blinked as three meteors—no, five—now they were more than he could count—fell in the sky above. _Fine. If that's the way he wants it, I have to accept._ He held out his Keyblades, and a heart-shaped flame appeared around him, purple in color. The figure atop the skyscraper pushed his hair away from his face, and Roxas shouted up to him, for now he knew who he was. "Where's Sora?"

For Riku would know, and it was Riku who faced him. After receiving word that the Heartless of a man named Xehanort had been defeated by Sora, the Organization had lost track of Sora's whereabouts. And Roxas had found _Riku_, Sora's best friend. Surely he would know, wouldn't he?

But something was strangely off about this picture. Riku wore the trademark black cloak of the Organization, though Roxas had never seen him in the castle. Though they would be stronger if he joined—Marluxia, Larxene, Lexaeus, Zexion, and Vexen had all mysteriously gone missing, and Axel had followed shortly after. Naminé also refused to see Roxas, signaling that something was drastically wrong. And this had all occurred within a month or so.

Riku didn't seem to pose any immediate threat, and so Roxas ignored him for now and turned his attention towards the Heartless, which had grown so large in number that they completely covered the street. Dashing forward into the throng, Roxas slashed wildly with the Keyblades, moving in all directions to clear the space before him. They jumped to meet him, but he was too quick.

Quickly changing the Keyblades' positions, Roxas leapt high into the air, throwing his left-hand blade with all his might up ahead of him. It sliced cleanly through open space, annihilating several Heartless, before spiraling back to Roxas' hand. He leapt off the ground and performed a perfect backflip onto the front steps of the skyscraper. From there, he had a clear view of the sheer number of Heartless: there were so many that the street was a moving mass of black.

Suddenly remembering Riku, Roxas looked up. From his position, it was a bit difficult to see, but he could still see Riku's silhouette against the sky, lit by flashes of lightning. Roxas decided that now was the time to take action, and so, evading a Heartless's claws, he jumped up onto the side of the skyscraper and dashed upwards, his momentum carrying him without fear of falling.

But the Heartless were here too, trying to claim his nonexistant heart. He swung at them, throwing them from the tower or slicing them to pieces. He had no time for them now; Riku knew he was coming, despite the blindfold. He could hear him, or possibly sense him. Or perhaps he could see him without the use of his eyes.

Roxas flung the Oblivion at Riku in hopes of striking him, but to no avail. At that moment, Riku leapt forward off the skyscraper and began to fall downwards headfirst. He reached out and grasped the Oblivion firmly, calm even while falling. Roxas rushed up to meet him, the Oathkeeper still in hand. They passed one another, looking into each other's eyes, and then continued on their way. Riku landed on his feet at the skyscraper's base, and Roxas changed course, heading back down to the ground.

Once both fighters had regained their footing, there ensued a terrible and ferocious battle, and even the Heartless moved aside to make way for them. Riku had summoned his Keyblade, and although Roxas was the quicker one, Riku was the better fighter. They spun and spiraled across the street, trading blows quicker than the eye could see.

Roxas gritted his teeth as Riku rushed him. _How did he get so good?! Last I heard, he was defeated by Sora...even with Xehanort's Heartless inside him. He's gotten much better..._ Sparks flew as their blades made contact again and again, flying past their faces and fizzing out on the ground. Roxas was nearing the point of exhaustion. Never before had he fought so hard.

Finally, after many tries, Roxas managed to successfully knock Riku's Keyblade out of his hand, and it screeched angrily across the asphalt. He swept the point of the Oblivion up to Riku's throat to signify that he had won. Riku, both devastated and horrified, looked up at Roxas in disbelief. "Why?" he shouted. "Why do you have the Keyblade?!"

Roxas found this a rather legitimate question. Here he was, skulking around in the darkness, wielding two Keyblades when Sora was supposed to be the Keyblade Master. _I should ask the same of you,_ Roxas thought, but refrained from saying this. He could not give anything away. Instead, he slashed through the air with the Oathkeeper. "Shut up!" he replied curtly, and swung. Riku picked up his Keyblade and the fight began again.

This time, Roxas knew who would win, and it wasn't him. He was exhausted, and Riku had the upper hand with his seemingly unlimited stamina. Roxas managed to work in a few well-placed hits before Riku's final blow came down. Roxas fell to the ground, the rain blurring his vision. _No...not like this..._ He could feel no pain, but felt his senses dimming. _If nothing else,_ he thought, before the world faded to black, _please let me be alive...or as alive as I can be...when I wake up._

**Some time later...**

Roxas was dimly aware of two deep voices speaking, but he could not distinguish the noise into words. He was only half-conscious. A picture of Axel's face swam before his unfocused eyes. _Axel...where are you? You were mad at me..._ He faintly remembered walking down a street in the Dark City, exchanging angry words with the person who was supposed to be his best friend. He had acted cruel and unforgiving. But underneath, his remnants of a heart ached.

_Axel...I'm sorry. I know you were trying to help me out of trouble. I know what would have happened...what _did_ happen. That's how I ended up this way...probably in enemy territory._ He would have sighed but was too tired to do even that. _I'd apologize to you and Naminé, if I could...but I can't reach you from here. I don't even know where 'here' is._

The last thing Roxas saw before the world faded away into blackness were numbers, swirling all around him, eating up his memories and flinging him into cold oblivion.


	4. 03:the first day

By: whitewingedsoldier

Rated: T

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the rights to Square-Enix, Disney, or any of their characters.

**Kingdom Hearts**

"**Somebody"**

**Roxas' Story**

_**03//the first day**_

Strange scenes flashed through the mind of a boy as he slept—visions of a stranger, though someone who seemed oddly familiar. A boy with spiky brown hair, with his friends. The same boy, always, only him, with a girl and another boy. The images were faded, and blurry, as though watched through a badly functioning television. The words spoken also sounded as though they were being heard from behind a screen, though sometimes they were clear.

After a situation in which the spiky-haired boy attempted to catch the girl in his arms, but missed, the boy that had previously been deeply asleep slowly opened his eyes, pushing himself into a sitting position on his bed.

"Another dream about him..." Roxas blinked, focusing, staring down at his hands. _What does it mean?_ He turned to his window and propped himself up on his knees, pushing the window open to let the cool morning air in. He could hear the distant ringing of the train bells in the distance, at the station. Roxas closed his eyes, allowing the wind to rush over his face. Nothing like a cold blast of wind to start your day.

After Roxas had eaten breakfast and changed into his ordinary clothes, he rushed to meet up with his friends at their hideout in one of the back alleys of Twilight Town, which was where he lived. Hayner, Pence, and Olette were great friends, but today Roxas didn't care much for what they were talking about. Even though, he listening to what they were saying, the words rearranging themselves in the back of his mind.

"Man, doesn't that tick you off?" The blonde-haired Hayner was saying, and the dark-haired, slightly chubby Pence nodded. "Yeah, that's just wrong." The brown-haired Olette, and the only girl, added her five cents. "Seifer's gone too far this time." Roxas was suddenly aware that they were looking at him for his opinion, but he only nodded, caught off guard.

Hayner jumped off his seat with a familiar brazen gleam in his eyes. "I mean, it's true that stuff's been stolen around town," he began, folding his arms in a Know-It-All manner. "And we've got a score to settle with Seifer and everything. So if he wants to think we did it, I can't really blame him. See...that's not what really bugs me." He paused for dramatic effect and began again, making sure his audience was listening. "What REALLY bugs me is that he's goin' around tellin' everybody _we're_ the thieves!"

Roxas silently agreed. Seifer was known for his usual mischief, seeing that he was head of the town's disciplinary committee, but his blaming them was like a declaration of war. Never before had he done anything quite so personally involved. Hayner was still rambling on. "...now the whole town and their mothers are treating us like the Klepto Club! Have you _ever_ been this ticked off before in your life?!" He swiped at the air angrily. "Cause I haven't. Nuh-uh, NEVER." He calmed slightly and fell into a pensive mood. "Now...what to do."

Olette looked as though she could have supplied a decent answer, but instead looked over at Roxas, who shrugged casually. He then realized she meant him to answer and began awkwardly, "Uh...well...we could find the real thieves," he suggested halfheartedly. "That would set the record straight." Pence's eyes took on an excited gleam. "Hey, that sounds fun!" he exclaimed. "What about Seifer?" asked Hayner in a disgusted tone.

Roxas stood to boost his image, but Hayner folded his arms again defiantly. "First, we gotta clear our names," Roxas stated matter-of-factly. "Once we find the real culprit, everyone will get off our backs." Hayner scowled, and Roxas got the feeling he would have argued, but Pence interrupted the tense silence with shocking news. "Oh no! They're gone!"

Everyone turned to look, and they realized that Pence was holding their camera in his hands. "Our – are gone!" He blinked in confusion and put a hand to his throat, bewildered. "What?" he wondered. "All our --, gone? Huh?" Hayner, strangely, had been similarly afflicted. He copied Pence. "Huh? You can't say --? Why not?" Olette, too. She put her hands to her mouth.

"But you _do_ understand what I'm saying, right?" Pence asked. "Our – are gone!" "Stolen," said Roxas, stroking his chin. "And not just the --. The word --! They stole it too!" "What kinda thief is that?" Hayner asked incredulously, raising an eyebrow. "Seifer could never have pulled that off." "Yeah!" Roxas agreed. Hayner turned towards their hideout's exit. "All right, time for some recon!" The other two followed him out at a run. Roxas began to follow them, but suddenly felt as though the world was falling out from underneath his feet.

"Huh?" Roxas, in a confused, dizzy state, collapsed to the ground, his vision fading into a sea of black.

But, a moment later, it appeared, Roxas awoke again. Slowly, he rose to his feet, brushing off the dirt on his clothes. Upon hearing footsteps, he looked up and saw Olette in front of him. "Roxas, come on," she said, beckoning to him. He nodded and followed her out to the common on Market Street, where Hayner and Pence were waiting. Roxas' and Hayner's eyes locked, and Roxas was waved over. "Over here!" Hayner called. Roxas dutifully walked up to the meeting place.

"Let's get this investigation underway," Pence said, and the friends nodded. Their first stop was the armor shop. "Yo, Roxas," the storekeeper greeted as they approached. "Never thought you'd do such a rotten thing..." Roxas was horrified and angry at the same time. Now it wasn't just the fact that Seifer was blaming them; people _believed_ him!

"We didn't steal anything, all right?" Roxas replied, his voice carrying a definite edge. "I'd like to believe you, but...who else would steal that stuff?" asked the shopkeeper, looking apologetic. "What stuff?" Roxas asked, but only received a shake of the head. "As if you didn't know. Hey, I'm not gonna tell you. Go ask at the accessory shop." He pointed across the street. Roxas sighed and led the others over.

"Go on, Roxas—ask her," Hayner egged him on, as he hesitated nervously in front of the store. Reluctantly, Roxas trudged over to the counter. "Oh, it's you, Roxas...please don't let me down. You used to be one of my favorite customers," the shopkeeper, a pretty female, said to him. "I'm not a thief!" Roxas protested, beginning to panic. "Okay..." The shopkeeper didn't seem to believe him. Roxas sighed. "It's no fun having everyone suspecting me, ya know," he admitted. "Then you've got to find a way to clear your name," said the shopkeeper, obviously trying to cheer him up. But that wasn't all the depressing news. "The woman at the candy shop is pretty disappointed, too."

Roxas rejoined his friends, and together they walked over to the candy shop front. "Roxas? Have you seen my cat around?" asked the elderly owner. "Er..." Roxas backed away from the store for a moment and looked around, finally spotting the cat lounging on the awning above him. He climbed down quickly and retrieved it. "Thank you, Roxas," the woman said gratefully, petting the cat as it jumped lightly onto the counter. "Did they steal something from you, too?" Roxas asked, and the woman nodded. "Oh, my, yes. Something important," she answered.

"Just so you know, we didn't do it," Roxas said, feeling as though if he didn't say it, she would believe Seifer too. "I believe you," came the reply, and relief flooded through him. "Thanks for that, ma'am," he said, trying to hide the relief. "So what did they take from you?" "My --. My precious --," the woman said, but Roxas shook his head. "Looks like the culprit is going around stealing --. And not just --, but the word --, too," mused Hayner thoughtfully.

"This isn't your average thief," muttered Pence, also thinking. "I wonder if Seifer would know anything about this," wondered Olette aloud. Roxas found this idea appealing. "We gotta talk to him. C'mon, to the sandlot!" The others followed him as he ran off to the meeting place of the disciplinary committee, finding the younger Vivi talking with Seifer's lackeys, Rai and Fuu. Vivi pointed them out, and the other two turned to look as they arrived.

"Thieves," declared Fuu boldly, pointing accusingly at them, and Rai nodded. "That was low, y'know!" Vivi nodded in agreement. "Oh yeah?" Hayner retorted, but Roxas could tell it didn't have much effect. The argument quickly ceased, however, as Seifer slowly walked onto the scene. "Nice comeback there, blondie," he shot at Hayner, who glared daggers at him. "What'd you say?!"

"You can give us back the – now," Seifer said, launching full-on into the topic. "Yeah! You're the only ones who would take it, y'know!" Rai supplied. "That was undeniable proof that we totally owned you lamers," Seifer continued, pointing at them. "So what did you do? Burn it?" He gave a small laugh. "Not that we need some – to prove you're losers."

"Replay!" Fuu demanded, and Seifer laughed again, harshly. "Now you're talking!" They fanned out in an aggressive stance, and of Roxas's group, only Hayner did the same. "I guess if you get on your knees and beg, _maybe_ I'll let it slide," Seifer declared. Roxas, gritting his teeth, slowly came closer to the group and further away from his own, listening to the mocking laughs of Seifer and his gang. Slowly, painstakingly, Roxas bent to kneel. "Roxas!" Hayner protested, but Roxas knew what he had to do...

...which was to snatch up one of the blue foam Struggle bats lying on the ground and face Seifer directly, not once afraid. "Roxas, focus!" Hayner called. Seifer smirked. "Kneel, loser," he demanded. Roxas fixed him with a steely glare. _Not on your life,_ he thought, but kept it inside. When the fight began, Roxas was shocked at how quickly it was over. Seifer might talk big, but lacked the strength behind it.

Barely a minute later, Seifer collapsed to the ground, and Rai and Fuu quickly moved to block him, shielding him from harm. "Seifer's not feelin' so hot, y'know?' Rai said, and Fuu nodded. "Tournament decides," she stated. In the meantime, Pence had whipped out his camera to snap a picture of Roxas standing dominant over Seifer, but in the moment before he pressed the button, a bizarre white creature that moved as though it were made of Jell-O swirled up and snatched the camera away.

Roxas turned just in time to see the creature run—no, _glide_—off to the common before disappearing from view. "What was that?" Hayner asked, and Olette pointed after it. "The thief!" she cried, and they chased after it. Roxas managed to get in front of the others as they dashed down the street. He saw a flash of white escape through a hole separating the street from a dark and dready wood. "You go in," said Hayner doubtfully, and Roxas ducked into the hole.

The white creature was there, almost as though it had waited, dancing teasingly around the trees. Roxas ran after it and found himself in front of an old, abandoned mansion with a ruined lawn. It looked, somehow, very strangely familiar, as did the white creature. He made to run after it and trap it at the gate, but at that moment, words that were not his and that sounded unfamiliar echoed in his head. _We have come for you, my liege._ "Huh?" Roxas blinked, focusing again in time to see a zipper that had closed the mouth of the creature slide open, indicating the fact that it was about to attack him. _How did I know that?_ Roxas wondered, but there was no time to wonder. It was coming.

But no matter how many times Roxas struck the creature with his Struggle bat, he felt as though it was passing right through it. It didn't even make contact. "It's no use," he sighed aloud, and as he lowered it to his side, a flash of light and what appeared to be numerical data exploded around it. "What?" He blinked hard, wondering if he was hallucinating. When he next looked at his bat, he found that it had completely transformed. He was now holding a long swordlike weapon, though the blade jutted out. The entire thing looked very much like a large key.

"What...what _is_ this thing?" Roxas asked, though there was no one to answer. He eyed the white creature, and then the keylike weapon. _It couldn't hurt,_ he thought, and dove in to attack. Within a few seconds, he had vanquished the creature, and an amount of photos dropped from where it had vanished onto the ground. At the same instant, the mysterious weapon disappeared from Roxas' hand completely. _That...was weird._ Roxas bent down to retrieve the pictures and headed back to show his friends.

The moment Roxas got back, he triumphantly shoved one of the photos at Hayner. "What's this?" asked Hayner, leaning in to get a closer look. The picture showed Roxas standing next to the owner of the armor shop. "I was his first customer when he took over the shop," Roxas explained. "So we took a picture together." Olette and Pence had crowded in to see. "It's a really nice photo," Olette complimented. "Oh...!"

"Hey! You just said 'photo'!" Pence exclaimed, but Olette just smiled. "So, Roxas," said Hayner, getting back to business, "tell us about the picture thief." Roxas casually shrugged one shoulder. "Not much to say. The pictures were just lying there," he said. Hayner frowned. "Then how do we prove we weren't the ones that took 'em?" he asked.

The others, meanwhile, were looking through the pictures, stopping at a certain one. Hayner looked over and chuckled. "It's a girl," he said. Olette smiled. "You look happy, Roxas," she said. Roxas made a face, defiant. "Do not," he shot back. Pence seemed to have deduced something. "So, like, anybody else notice that all the stolen pictures are of Roxas?" he asked mysteriously. "Ohh..." Olette had caught on. "So that's why everyone thought it was us."

Hayner blinked slowly. "So Seifer didn't go around accusing us after all?" he asked, setting the question out in front of them. Roxas bent over to examine the pictures. "Are they really all of me?" he asked, disbelieving. "Yep," said Pence, holding them out for him to see. "See?" He flipped to another. "Look!" Olette exclaimed. And then another. "Right? Every single one." Roxas nodded. They really _were_ all of him.

"Wouldn't it be weird if the thief wanted to steal the _real_ Roxas or something?" Pence asked. Roxas looked at him in alarm, but Hayner laughed it off. "C'mon, get serious. Why would anyone wanna steal a bonehead like Roxas?" Roxas grinned at him. "Oh, thanks!" They all shared a laugh at that.

Just then, the sound of the train passing over the tracks above them caused them to look up, and they listened to the sound as it passed. The day's mystery having been solved, Roxas and Hayner played a few rounds of darts, and Olette and Pence watched from the battered couch. It was late afternoon when Hayner, Pence, and Olette decided to call it a day and go home. "See you, Roxas," said Olette, waving, and he waved back.

After a while, Roxas turned to leave, as well. The afternoon sun was streaming into their hideout from between the tracks, and he raised a hand to shield his eyes as he stepped into it. And then, just as before, he heard a voice that was not his own echo in his head. "Where...am I?" Roxas felt his senses go on high alert. "Who's there?" he called out. "Who are you?" asked the voice. Roxas listened for more, but the voice faded away. Sighing, he headed back home.


	5. 04:the second day

By: whitewingedsoldier

Rated: T

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the rights to Square-Enix, Disney, or any of their characters.

**Kingdom Hearts**

"**Somebody"**

**Roxas' Story**

_**04//the second day**_

More memories. The spiky-haired boy, with his friends. Finding new worlds, fighting with the same keylike weapon Roxas had used the day before—the "Keyblade". Meeting new friends, receiving a mission. Finding enemies. Locking...a keyhole.

Roxas awoke, allowing the faint morning light to filter in through his eyes before fully awakening. He sat up. "A key...blade?" He tested out the word, and it sounded strange rolling off his tongue. He shook his head, getting up and pulling on his clothes. The others would be waiting for him.

Even after grabbing a quick breakfast, Roxas could still not push the thought out of his mind. "A Keyblade..." He strode slowly along one of the back alleys of Twilight Town, and then stopped in his tracks. He had spotted a stick leaning against the wall, and after checking to make sure no one was watching, quickly dashed to pick it up. He stared at it for a moment or two, and then slashed through the air with it, remembering what it felt like to hold the Keyblade, even for those few moments.

"What was that about?" he wondered aloud. He stared at the stick, and after realizing that it would not materialize, he sighed in disgust. _This whole idea is stupid. It was probably part of my dream...or was it? In any case...I shouldn't think too much about it. If it happened, fine. And if it didn't, that's fine too. Whatever._ He tossed the stick behind him, over his head, but instead of hearing it clatter against the street, he heard it thump softly, as though it had hit... "Oh!"

Roxas' eyes widened in alarm as he saw a person in an oddly familiar black cloak standing behind him. He felt guilt and fear rise up in his throat. He'd hit a total stranger! "Sorry...about that..." he apologized hastily, but the person merely turned away from him and walked down the steps leading to the common. _Okay..._ Roxas decided not to worry about it and continued on his way to the usual spot.

As he had expected, Hayner, Pence, and Olette were already waiting for him. He noticed the familiar light blue ice cream bars in their hands, and his mouth watered. "Roxas," said Olette, and Roxas came back to reality as he realized that Hayner was offering him some. He smiled. "Thanks." As he walked across the ground, Pence looked up, asking the question more to the ceiling than to his friends, but asking it all the same. "Do you guys think we'll always be together like this?"

Roxas took a seat, feeling a strange loneliness well up inside him. _We have to be...don't we?_ "I sure hope so," said Olette, sounding uncertain. Hayner raised an eyebrow at Pence. "Where did that come from?" he asked. Pence shrugged it off. "Oh, well...you know. Just thinking out loud," he supplied.

"Well, I doubt we can be together forever," Hayner began, and Roxas listened with interest. He hadn't thought Pence's question would get an answer. "But isn't that what growing up's all about? What's important isn't how often we see each other, but how often we think about each other. Right?" Roxas was mystified at Hayner's answer. Too mystified even to speak. _He's right...very right. I'm surprised._ But Pence didn't marvel at Hayner's wisdom. Instead, he laughed. "Get that off a fortune cookie?" he asked jokingly. Hayner grinned at him. "That's it, no more ice cream for you!" Then he sighed, and his face reverted back to a depressed expression. "Man, today's turning out to be a drag."

"Maybe because of yesterday's memory thief," Olette suggested. Hayner shook his head. "Nuh-uh. You know what it is? We don't want summer vacation to be over. That's all. So, how about this?" He got up off his seat. "We all go to the beach! And _why_ do we go to the beach? Because we haven't gone once this entire vacation!" Roxas recognized one of what he liked to call 'Hayner rants' coming on.

"Blue seas! Blue skies! Let's just get on the train and GO!" Hayner was saying. The others, by now, had also stood up, but remained silent. "No?" Hayner looked at them, obviously disappointed. "Aw, c'mon!"

There was a small silence, until Roxas broke it. "Maybe you forgot, but...we're broke," he said, and the others gave small nods. But Hayner wasn't about to give up so easily. "Maybe you forgot I'm smart!" he said, dashing off. The others quickly followed him, all but Roxas. Pence ducked back inside to get him. "Hurry up, Roxas!" he urged. Roxas slowly walked out into the alley to find the other three waiting there for him. "We're going to Market Street," Hayner announced, and they were off again. Roxas met up with them again at the station heights.

As he came closer, Roxas saw that his friends were gathered near the wall, reading a promotional poster about the Struggle tournament. He came to Hayner's side, and he turned around to face him. "You and I have to make the finals," he said excitedly. "That way, no matter who wins, the four of us split the prize!" Roxas nodded. "Okay, you're on." Pence smiled. "You two are gonna clean up!" "Go get 'em!" Olette cheered. Hayner and Roxas touched their arms together as a symbol of friendship, a promise. "It's a promise!"

Roxas took his arm back, and Hayner put on his business face. "Now, down to business. One ticket to the beach is 900 munny. How much for four of us?" "3600 munny," said Olette, the math wizard. "And 300 each to spend there," Hayner added. "What's that for all of us?" "1200 munny. A total of 4800 munny," Olette quickly calculated.

"To spend on what?" Roxas asked, confused. "Pretzels, of course!" Hayner said, looking at Roxas as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "What else is there?" "Well, there's always watermelon," Roxas reminded him. "Too pricey," said Hayner, immediately putting watermelon out of the picture. "They're like, 2000 munny apiece." Roxas sighed. _Fine, so I lost this time._ "Pretzels it is," he said, managing a smile.

"So, where were we?" Hayner asked, turning to Olette. "We need 4800 munny altogether," Olette said, "but all we have is..." She turned to the others, indicating that they should turn out their pockets to produce whatever they had. "I've got 800," Pence said first. "...650," Olette said next. "150. Sorry," Roxas said, immediately feeling terrible that he wasn't contributing much to the pot. "That's 1600 munny!" Hayner exclaimed, randomly inheriting Olette's math talent. "We need another 3200. Let's find ourselves some odd jobs and earn some dough! We have 'til the train leaves to earn 800 munny each!" With that, he ran off. "Meet at the station with cash in hand!" he called over his shoulder.

Pence stared after him. "Didn't he say he had it covered?" he asked, but Roxas only shrugged. "Whatever. Those pretzels are sounding pretty good." Pence and Olette nodded in agreement and moved off, leaving Roxas to find jobs on his own. And jobs he found. He delivered letters because the post office wasn't working fast enough. He nearly broke his back pushing bags of stuff up the hill. He performed for a crowd, put up Struggle posters, exterminated a swarm of angry bees, and cleaned up a junk-filled alley. Finally, panting, sweating, and exhausted beyond all means, Roxas headed towards the station with enough munny to last him at the beach.

"All present and accounted for?" Hayner asked, once Roxas approached. "What've we got?" Pence questioned, and Roxas put his hand into his pocket. "Let's see..." He pulled out the bag of munny and showed them. "Just this." Hayner smiled approvingly. "Good job."

After adding up everything they had earned and giving it to Olette, she announced the results. "Nice work, everyone. Added to what we started with, we now have..." She proudly pulled out a handmade munny pouch bulging with coins. "Ta-da! 5000 munny!" Pence grinned. "Sweet!" Olette handed the bag to Roxas for safekeeping, and he tucked it away. "Let's get tickets," said Olette, and she and Pence ran ahead first. Roxas turned to Hayner, who was staring off into the distance.

"We can't be together forever...so we'd better make the time we _do_ have something to remember," Hayner said slowly. Roxas blinked. "Huh?" Hayner grinned slyly at him. "Gotcha!" he joked, and playfully punched Roxas in the stomach before running off to join the others. Roxas made to follow him, but felt his foot catch on something that wasn't there. He tripped and went sprawling to the ground. "Whoa!" Beside him, a familiar-looking stick fell, landing with a clatter on the pavement. Hayner, Pence, and Olette had stopped on the steps and were watching Roxas carefully.

Roxas carefully picked himself up off the ground, checking to make sure he wasn't bleeding. He was positive he'd accidentally bitten his lip but he felt no blood. Then, to his surprise, he noticed someone wearing a black cloak standing beside him. "Huh?" Without warning, the person grabbed the collar of Roxas' jacket and pulled him up harshly. "Do you feel Sora?" he whispered. Roxas blinked. "What?"

"Roxas! Three minutes!" called Hayner, and Roxas nodded. "Okay!" he called back. Swerving around, he saw that the cloaked figure had gone. _I guess I shouldn't worry about it...but that was definitely weird,_ Roxas thought. He jogged to catch up with the others, who were standing at the ticket booth. "Four students," Hayner said to the teller, smiling excitedly. "Roxas, the money," Pence said, turning to Roxas, who nodded and reached into his pocket—no money.

A prick of fear entered Roxas's emotions. He searched his other pockets, the inside of his jacket, his vest. _No money._ "No!" he cried, and Hayner turned around. "Huh?" Roxas turned around to look back out at the plaza, which was visible through the glass doors of the station. _That guy in black..._ "He took it!" Roxas exclaimed, beginning to dash forward, back to the plaza. "Where are you going?" asked Olette, frowning. Roxas sighed and turned around to explain.

"Remember when I fell?" he asked. "I had the money before that. I bet that guy took it!" There was an awkward silence. "Guy?" asked Hayner slowly. "He couldn't have gotten too...far..." Roxas said to himself, slowing when he realized his friends were confused. "What are you talking about?" Hayner asked, looking worried. "There was no guy." Roxas was snapped out of his reverie as he heard the sound of the bell, signaling a departure. "Huh? But he...there wasn't...really?" His own voice sounded uncertain.

The train's whistle went off, and it was official: they had missed the train. "Oh boy," Pence sighed, disappointed. "There wasn't anyone...there?" Roxas continued, wondering what, then, he had seen. Hayner, Pence, and Olette slowly walked past Roxas and out of the station, leaving him to wonder on his own. _Am I going insane?_ He put a hand to his head. _I know I saw him. But why didn't they? Was I hallucinating? Dreaming? Did I make him up?_ He shook his head. _I can understand why they're worried about me._

Later that afternoon, Roxas and the other three sat perched atop the clock tower, sea-salt ice cream in hand. But as the others ate theirs, Roxas sat thinking, his hands in his lap, allowing the ice cream to dangle over the ledge. A drop slowly gathered at the top of the bar, falling off onto the ground below. "It's melting," Olette reminded him gently.

"Sorry," said Roxas, picking up the ice cream to face level. "Cheer up already!" Hayner said, frustrated at Roxas' mood. "That was definitely weird, though," Roxas mused. "Strange," Olette agreed. "You said it," Hayner finished off. Though happy that his friends finally believed him, Roxas still had his own doubts. _Can you feel Sora?_ That had been what the cloaked figure had said to him. _How can I feel what I don't even know exists? What...or who...is 'Sora'?_


	6. 05:the third day

By: whitewingedsoldier

Rated: T

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the rights to Square-Enix, Disney, or any of their characters.

**Kingdom Hearts**

"**Somebody"**

**Roxas' Story**

_**05//the third day**_

The memories had gotten deeper. Different worlds, different people, constantly changing. Flashes of a girl. They had shown up in the other dreams, the last two days. But, as the memories faded away, a bright light entered Roxas's consciousness. He could faintly see, in his dream, a girl wearing a white dress, standing in front of a brightly lit pod. The room it was held in was completely white.

"Who are you?" asked Roxas. _Is this...my semiconsciousness? _The girl turned and smiled at him. She had blonde hair, and Roxas felt certain that he knew her. _There's something I'm missing..._ His eyes slowly opened, and he found himself in his room. For a moment, he saw the girl standing there, but she disappeared when he turned to look. "Huh...?" _There must really be something wrong with me,_ Roxas thought, rubbing sleep from his eyes. _I'm hallucinating, I know I am. Just like yesterday, and the day before..._

Roxas remained worried as he headed down to their usual place, hoping he wasn't terminally ill or anything like that. He mentally ran through a list of what he'd had for breakfast the last two days. _Are there hallucinogens in bagels?_ he wondered, as he opened up the gate leading inside. To his surprise, the place was deserted. Roxas looked around for signs of life and found a letter addressed to him on the couch. It read:

Meet at the station. Today's the day we hit the beach—and don't sweat about the munny!

It was signed "Hayner." Feeling his mood lift, Roxas ran off to the station heights to see Pence and Olette heading towards him. "Hey," he said, by way of greeting. "Morning," greeted Olette, but the moment after that, she and Pence froze in their tracks—literally. Their faces, their bodies...everything. "Huh...?" Roxas looked around. It seemed as though time itself had frozen. He could have sworn he saw a bird frozen in the air.

Roxas ran up to his friends, worried, but was forced to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting a girl that had mysteriously appeared in front of him. _The girl from the dream!_ he realized. "Hello, Roxas," she greeted in a friendly voice. Roxas wouldn't ask how she knew his name. "Uh...hi...and you are?" Roxas asked, trying to start a conversation, but the girl held up a hand for silence.

"I wanted to meet you at least once," said the girl, and Roxas blinked. "Me?" She nodded. "Yes, you." With no further words, she walked away, leaving Roxas utterly confused. _How does she know me? And why...would she want to meet me? And _why_ does she seem so familiar? I can't put my finger on it...it's disturbing._

Roxas snapped back to reality as he realized time had begun to flow again. Pence and Olette had resumed walking and stopped in front of him. "Olette dragged me along to go shopping," Pence explained, in a bored voice. "Hey, you wanna come with us?" asked Olette. Roxas looked from Olette to behind him, where the girl had vanished. "Um, uhh, wait...did you just see that..." He looked back again.

"He's stalling," Pence accused. "Very well, then," said Olette, sighing. "We'll see you later, Roxas, okay?" "Y-Yeah," Roxas stammered, his mind focused on other things. As they walked away, his eyes wandered once more to the last place he'd seen the girl. _Did she go to that haunted mansion?_ he wondered. Slowly, he walked off to the common, his feet guiding him on their own. He stopped short when he saw her outline, and he followed his senses to the hole in the wall, the one that led into the woods.

But as he arrived, Roxas found a large dark void in the middle of the air, as though it had opened up from out of nowhere. More of the bizarre white creatures were pulling themselves from it, trying to pull him in with them. "Lemme go!" Roxas shouted at them, pulling his arm free and turning around. _I have to go back!_ he thought frantically, and raced back to the common. Quickly checking behind him, he realized that the creatures, whatever they were, were following him.

Roxas led the creatures all the way to the sandlot, where he passed Seifer and his gang. They noticed the disturbance and looked up, and Seifer hailed him. "Hey, chicken wuss." Roxas was too preoccupied to be hurt by the insult. He stopped as he noticed the creatures come into the lot, and found that the others had noticed them too. "Who's that?" asked Fuu, pointing. Vivi took the opportunity to run off while Seifer, Fuu, and Rai got in position. "I don't know, but they've already crossed the line!" Seifer stated boldly. "Find a weapon!"

Looking around as quickly as time permitted, Roxas managed to find a stray Struggle bat lying on the ground and picked it up, preparing to fight the creatures, but remembered his last encounter with one. _The bat won't do much,_ he realized. As he had expected, the fight was useless. He was thrown down to the ground, his weapon flying from his hand. As he gingerly got up, he noticed that Seifer, Vivi, Fuu, and Rai were frozen, just as Pence and Olette had been earlier.

"Not good..." Roxas groaned as he realized the creatures were coming towards him. _So they and I can move in frozen time,_ he thought, all the while trying to find a weapon he could use to successfully hurt them. "Roxas! Use the Keyblade!" cried a voice, and Roxas looked up to see the girl standing on a building overlooking the sandlot. Roxas remembered how his bat had transformed into the mysterious weapon, but he had no bat, and as he thought about it, one of the creatures rushed straight at him. Panicked and afraid, Roxas hastily put up his arms in an attempt to shield himself and was almost swallowed by bright light.

_I died; I'm dead, I know it. I have to be._ Those were his first thoughts, but as he opened his eyes slowly, he found that he had magically disappeared and reappeared in a rather strange place. He was standing on a platform of stained glass, and a large image of a now familiar boy, the one from the dreams, was pictured on it. Floating above the platform were three items: a shield, a sword, and a staff.

Roxas looked around, examining this strange new place. The platform didn't seem supported by anything. It was large and round, and the edges dropped off into a darkness so deep that if he fell off, he felt as though he would be falling forever. Slowly, he turned to face the three weapons. _I guess I have to pick one,_ he thought. _But which do I choose? Obviously, they all have different purposes. If I went with instinct, I would have to pick the sword...it looks most like that Keyblade._

Slowly, Roxas walked towards the sword and picked it up, and it immediately transformed into the Keyblade. A spurt of joy ran through him, until he found that he was not alone in this mysterious dark room. The white creatures were here too, and he fought them until he felt as though his arms would fall off. He nearly tripped over a treasure chest and he opened it, finding a drink inside. At last, a door appeared, and a disembodied voice spoke, seeming to come from this door.

**Be careful. Beyond that door lies a completely different world. But don't be afraid.**Roxas approached it slowly, feeling his palms slick with sweat. **Don't stop walking...** He opened up the door and found himself in a similar dark room, though this time with a large flight of stairs, fashioned from the same stained glass. He raced up, flinging more of the white creatures out of his way, until coming to another door.

_This is so strange...is this a dream too?_ Roxas wondered as he opened the second door. There seemed to be nothing on this new platform, but as he neared the edge to see if perhaps there was something he could jump down onto, a rumbling shook the floor. He held his ground, but stared in horror as a large white creature, many, many times larger than Roxas, rose up behind him.

Roxas was no longer afraid. He had proved that he could defy death. He was here, wasn't he? Bravely he charged at the enemy, and many times he felt as though the end was near. He nearly fell off the platform at least twice. But by an enormous amount of luck, he survived, finishing the creature off. As he stood admiring his work, he realized that it was about to come crashing down on top of him. Horrified, Roxas tried to protect himself, and a pool of darkness opened around him, trying to pull him in. _No...please, no...don't let it take me. Don't let it take me..._ And just when it seemed all hope was lost, a hand reached out of the emptiness and saved him. Roxas didn't even have to look to know it was the girl.

When Roxas could see again, he found himself inside a white room, standing before the girl, who was sitting up above him. He was relieved to have someone to finally speak to about what had been happening, but as he opened his mouth to say something, the girl put a finger to her lips. Roxas reluctantly allowed her to go first.

"My name is Naminé," the girl said. "Roxas...do you remember your true name?" Roxas blinked. _True name? Naminé? Why does that sound so familiar?_ But Roxas could still say nothing. A familiar black-cloaked figure had appeared by Naminé's side. "Say no more, Naminé," he instructed. Naminé looked crestfallen. "But if no one tells him, Roxas will..." Her words died in her throat.

"It's best that he doesn't know the truth," said the cloaked figure, with a sense of finality. Roxas studied him and suddenly remembered who he was. "Hey! You're that pickpocket!" he shouted up at him, pointing accusingly. The figure held up a hand, and a dark hole opened behind Roxas. _A dark portal,_ he thought. _Wait, how do I know that?_ He leapt away from it, alarmed. The figure was near him now, and he reached out a hand, touched Roxas's shoulder, and pushed.

Roxas blearily opened his eyes to find himself lying on the ground in the sandlot. "Seifer, strike a pose, y'know?" Rai's voice said. "How's this?" came Seifer's voice in reply. "That's totally perfect, y'know?" Roxas heard the click of a camera above him somewhere. He looked up to see Fuu holding the camera—Pence's camera.

"How 'bout one more, y'know?" suggested Rai. Roxas got to his feet, confused. "What's that for?" he asked them. "Keepsake," replied Fuu. "Those freaks in the white jumpsuits are gone, y'know?" Rai said. "Cakewalk," Fuu added. "What _were_ those things?" Roxas asked, hoping someone here could clarify. "Outsiders, that's what," Seifer answered. Roxas shook his head.

"And if they don't wise up to the rules around here, I might have to take 'disciplinary measure'," Seifer continued. Rai nodded enthusiastically. "Oh yeah, Seifer's always lookin' after the town, y'know?" he supplied. Roxas looked down, and then up again to see that his friends were standing on the other side of the sandlot. Hayner glared at him angrily, and then took off. "Wait up!" Roxas called after him. He ran to follow, but Seifer spoke again, stopping him.

"Hey! No chickening out of the tournament tomorrow!" he called. "We'll be waitin', y'know?" Rai threw in. Roxas felt the usual pang of nervousness that he got when he thought about the tournament, and then ran off to the hideout.

Hayner, Pence, and Olette were already sitting around, sea-salt ice cream in hand. This time, no one offered Roxas any. "So...you hung out with Seifer's gang today?" Hayner asked, right off the bat. "N-No...it's not like that," Roxas said, his face falling. "Oh yeah! How was the beach? Wasn't that today?" he asked. "We didn't go," said Olette, causing Roxas to feel even worse. "It wouldn't be the same without you, right?"

"Sorry," said Roxas, and he truly meant it. _How do I make it up to them?_ "Hey...how 'bout we go tomorrow? We could get those pretzels and..." "I promised I'd be somewhere," interrupted Hayner, and Roxas's eyes darted to the ground. "Oh." And then he remembered. "OH!" The memory of yesterday's promise came back to him. The prize. The finals. The tournament.

Roxas looked expectantly at Hayner, but received no reply. "I'm outta here," said Hayner finally, jumping off his seat and walking away. Roxas looked after him, his mood going from terrible to flat-out miserable. What would he do if even his best friend didn't want to speak to him anymore?

**Thanks to all the people who sent in reviews! I love you guys!**


	7. 06:the fourth day

By: whitewingedsoldier

Rated: T

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the rights to Square-Enix, Disney, or any of their characters.

**Kingdom Hearts**

"**Somebody"**

**Roxas' Story**

_**06//the fourth day**_

Now the memories were chained together by one link: friendship. Roxas knew now that the name of the boy in the dream was Sora. He had friends, Donald and Goofy, and another named Riku. There was also a girl he seemed to have feelings for, and up until now, Roxas had not known her name. But now he did. Kairi.

"Wherever you go...I'm always with you." Those were the last words Roxas heard before he awoke, sitting up in bed again. His head was filled with images. "Right... 'promise'," he said to himself. He held out his arm and swung an imaginary weapon through the air. "What a mess..." _Hayner is probably still mad, too..._

Some time later, Roxas burst out of the hideout, heading for the sandlot. "Hurry! You're gonna be late!" warned the shopkeeper. Roxas nodded and doubled his speed, rushing down the steps to the sandlot, where the entire town had gathered to watch that day's main event, the Struggle championship tournament.

As Roxas passed his friends, he heard Pence and Olette talking amongst themselves. "Who you gonna root for?" asked Pence. Olette laughed. "Both of them, silly," she answered. Roxas climbed up on stage, where the announcer and the other contestants were gathered. Once the crowd had quieted somewhat, the announcer spoke in a loud, clear, and obviously excited tone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Struggle-fiends of Twilight Town! It's time for summer's most sizzling clash! That's right! Today is the day for the Struggle and title match! Who will be the one to break through the ranks and take on our champion, Setzer?!" _You have to hand it to him,_ thought Roxas, trying not to smile. "Seifer, y'know?" Rai called out from the crowd. "And who will leave today as our new Struggle champion?" the announcer continued. "Hayner! Roxas!" Pence and Olette called, but they were drowned out as a large group of giggling girls screamed out a name in unison: "SETZEEEEERRRR!!"

Roxas wheeled around to find that the current champion and local heartthrob, Setzer, had arrived and was waving to his fans, which seemed to include the entire crowd now. They were all chanting his name excitedly. "Yes, the crowd is fired up, so you know what comes next!" the announcer shouted. "Let's..." He held up his hands, and the entire crowd screamed at the same time; "STRUGGLE!!!"

Roxas looked up a set of fireworks exploded above them. _They're sure making extra effort,_ he thought. The announcer quickly changed placed with another announcer, who, once having caught the attention of the crowd, began to introduce them to the fans.

"Hey, now. It's time to introduce today's combatants! The four bad boys who struggled their way through the preliminaries!" He looked around, then began to read off the names. "Regular finalist and head of the Twilight Disciplinary Committee: Seifer!" He pointed Seifer out, and did the same once he called off the others. "Completely out of nowhere—who thought he'd make it this far? Vivi! An underground favorite and local attitude problem: Hayner! It's his first trip to the finals! And struggler number 4, who happens to be my absolute favorite customer: Roxas!"

Roxas noticed Hayner looking at him and met his eyes, but the other boy turned away quickly. Roxas continued to try and get him to look up, while still listening as the announcer went on. "So—who will win this sweltering summer Struggle? Who will take home the grand prize? The summa cum laude of Struggle—the Four Crystal Trophy! AND a chance to take on our defending champion, Setzer!"

Roxas looked to Setzer, who was holding aloft the championship belt he had won the year before. "It won't be long now, folks," the announcer assured the anxious fans. "I suggest our challengers go over the official Struggle Rules before we begin!" Roxas followed the others to the board in the corner, and they quickly ran over the rules, which Roxas knew already, to ensure that they remembered them.

Roxas and Hayner were first up to fight. They were both handed Struggle bats by the first announcer, who patted them on the shoulder, then left. Hayner pointed his bat at Roxas, whose face fell. "Hey...sorry about yesterday," Roxas said, releasing his feelings before they overloaded and drove him insane. "What, you still worried about that?" asked Hayner, surprised. "You need to learn to let that stuff go." Roxas shrugged one shoulder. "I've got a lot on my mind," he replied simply.

"Sorry, man," said Hayner sympathetically. Roxas shook his head, and then Hayner wondered, "Wait, what am I sorry for?" He grinned, and Roxas returned the smile, his feelings soaring. _So he's _not_ mad!_ Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Olette and Pence exchange what could pass for smirks. He saw the announcer make the sign and prepared for battle, hearing the words blare out around him. "Our first match of today's Struggle tournament will be between Roxas and his best friend, Hayner!"

If the announcer had said anything more, Roxas didn't hear it. He and Hayner rushed at one another, the old playful fighting breaking out and then escalating into a true, heated battle. Roxas had to hand it to Hayner, he _was_ talented, but Roxas was quicker. He knocked Hayner to the ground, and his friend didn't get back up.

"And the winner is Roxas!" the announcer declared, a minute or so later. Roxas felt his arm being raised up into the air, and with his free arm he waved to the crowd. "Not even friendship will slow this kid down. And Hayner put up a great fight, too," the announcer said. Once he let go, Roxas ran over to where Hayner was still lying on the ground. "I lost. Aww, I can't believe it!" he exclaimed, obviously disappointed.

Roxas backed away as Hayner slowly got to his feet. "I guess I taught you well," he said, smiling. Roxas returned it. "I had a lot of fun fighting you," he said. Hayner's smile grew wider, and then it faded completely. He crossed his arms. "Yeah, well I didn't, wise guy," he shot back. Roxas knew Hayner was only kidding, but unwanted disgust bubbled inside him. _Sore loser,_ he thought, completely inappropriately. _Wait, where did that come from? I've never thought that about Hayner before...even if it is kind of true._

"Hey, let's find a way to cheer you up," Roxas suggested, but Hayner shrugged him off. "Nah, that's all right." He playfully punched Roxas' hand and then turned to leave, nearly crashing into Seifer as he came up onto the stage. "Out of the way," Seifer commanded. "You in a rush to lose?" Hayner retorted. Roxas looked down and nearly jumped out of his skin at the fact that Vivi had silently appeared there, like a ghost. The smaller boy looked up at him and laughed eerily. It made the hair at the back of Roxas' neck stand up. "Don't mess with your elders," he heard Seifer say to Vivi.

After Roxas jumped off stage, leaving Seifer and Vivi there alone, the announcer set them up and then grabbed the microphone, speaking to the crowd again. "Whew, just look at those sparks fly! I guess Seifer didn't expect to fight one of his own boys!" Roxas joined his friends at the sidelines to watch the fight, and they stared in amazement as an abnormally swift Vivi chased Seifer down. "When did Vivi get so tough?" Hayner wondered. Roxas just shrugged.

The battle progressed until finally, Seifer managed to block Vivi's attacks and knock him away, a glowing orb of Vivi's falling to the ground. Seifer spotted it and a look of greed appeared in his eyes. "You're mine!" he cried, diving for it, but Vivi came hurtling out of nowhere to defend his orb, knocking Seifer to the ground. He lay there, immobile.

The crowd was startled; anxious whispers were being exchanged among them. Even the announcer was confused. "I-I'm not sure what just happened...um...but...the winner is Vivi! In a positively blistering comeback!" As Roxas approached the stage, Seifer got up, coming closer to him. "That's not Vivi," he stated. Roxas blinked. "Huh?" But Seifer said nothing else except, "Thrash 'im."

Roxas watched as Seifer left the sandlot, flanked by Rai and Fuu. "It looks like Seifer's withdrawn from the Struggle for third place," said the announcer, and Hayner's eyes lit up. "So I'm in third now? Aw, baby!" He punched the air triumphantly. _Guess Seifer can't handle it if he's not in first place,_ an evil voice at the back of Roxas' mind crowed. He stared at the ground, horrified. _What is _wrong_ with me? I really..._really_...haven't been myself lately._

Roxas walked over to the opposite side of the stage to face Vivi, and he was again given a bat. "Keep it clean, fellas," reminded the announcer, and moved off. Roxas eyed Vivi a bit nervously. Seifer had told him that it wasn't Vivi, and that Roxas should defeat him. "And now, the match you've been waiting for: Roxas vs. Vivi!" the announcer cried, and the crowd went wild.

The battle with Vivi went rather smoothly, as far as Roxas was concerned. He had the upper hand, it seemed, but just as he went in for the finishing blow, time froze around him. Vivi was still moving, but as Roxas watched, he turned into one of the same white creatures he had been seeing the last few days. _A Dusk,_ said the voice at the back of his head. Okay, so it could give advice too. But what was a Dusk? He watched as more of them appeared on the scene.

"Again?!" Roxas protested, knowing this could mean nothing good. He held up his sword, and it transformed into the Keyblade. "Again..." Roxas voiced his thought aloud. But there was no time to think. He quickly finished off the Dusks, but he was only human. He was flat-out exhausted. Roxas slumped over to catch his breath, but was then alerted of another presence through the sound of...applause.

"Roxas. All right. Fight fight fight." Roxas turned around to see someone wearing a black cloak identical to the one the man had worn yesterday. He could tell, however, that it was not the same man; his voice was different. The man standing in front of Roxas walked across the Struggle stage so that he was facing him. "You really don't remember? It's me. You know..." The man reached up and pushed back his hood, revealing a mass of spiky dark red hair and green eyes. "Axel."

If the Dusks had been familiar, and Naminé had been familiar, then Axel _definitely_ was familiar. A bell was ringing in the back of his head but he didn't know why. _Should I know him?_ Roxas wondered. _And if I should...who is he?_ "Axel?" Roxas asked, listening to the way it sounded in his voice. _I feel like I've said this name hundreds, thousands of times. But...but...when? And why?_

"Talk about blank with a capital 'B'," sighed Axel. "Man oh man, even the Dusks aren't gonna crack this one." Roxas raised an eyebrow. _What's he talking about? What are the Dusks doing here? And how does he know that they're here? Is he with them?_ Roxas wondered. He was alarmed as Axel held out his hands, two blazing pinwheels of flame appearing in them: chakrams.

"Wait a sec, tell me what's going on!" Roxas demanded, his harsh tone sounding strange but yet appropriate to his ears. Axel looked around at the frozen crowd. "This town is his creation, right? Which means we don't have time for a Q and A. You're coming with me, conscious or not. Then you'll hear the story," he said. This was not the answer Roxas wanted to hear.

Axel bent down in an aggressive position, as though meaning to attack Roxas, but before Roxas could do anything he became aware of something bizarre near him. "Uh-oh," said Axel, looking disturbed. Roxas stared at the Keyblade in his hand, realizing what it meant. _Maybe I can scare him with this. Maybe I can hurt him with this. I just want an answer!_ Roxas sighed heavily. "What's going ON!" At the word "on" he pulled back his arm and flung the Keyblade onto the ground with all the force he could muster.

Roxas had meant this as a message to Axel that he was frustrated, confused, and just wanted a straight answer, but it didn't seem to get across because the Keyblade appeared back in Roxas' hand the next instant. He looked to Axel to see if he could get an answer for that, too. "Number 13. Roxas. The Keyblade's chosen one," Axel clarified, but that still didn't answer anything.

Roxas noticed that Axel had bent down again in a fighting stance. He looked back at the Keyblade, realizing that if it wouldn't go down and stay down, he would have to use it. "Okay, fine! You asked for it!" Roxas challenged, and faced Axel head-on. The two clashed several times until, from out of nowhere, a mysterious man covered in crimson bandages appeared at the sidelines.

"So it _was_ you," said Axel, as though he'd known this all along. He flung his blazing chakrams at the man, but they had no effect. "Roxas, this man speaks nonsense!" the man thundered at Roxas. Once more, he wouldn't ask how he knew his name. "Roxas, don't let him decieve you!" Axel shouted back. Apparently, it was all up to Roxas now. They were shouting his name, but Roxas could care less. He couldn't pledge loyalty to one side or the other. He didn't know either of the men, and while Axel seemed a little friendlier, he was still not to be trusted.

Roxas clamped his hands over his ears. _No more..._ The names of his friends came unbidden to his lips. "Hayner...Pence...Olette..." He raised his head to the sky, shouting as loudly as he could in hopes that his feelings would drown out the madness. "Hayner! Pence! Olette!"

By some random miracle, that did the trick. Time began to flow normally again, and the Struggle tournament returned. Roxas looked around, confused. The crowd was cheering him in his defeat of Vivi...he had defeated Vivi? He looked across the stage to where Vivi stood, just as confused as he was. "What? What just happened?" asked the bewildered announcer. "Huh...? How did I get here?" Vivi looked around, disoriented. He hopped off the stage.

Roxas looked up as his friends appeared in front of him. "Roxas!" Olette called, smiling at him. "Ladies and gentlemen, Roxas—our new top Struggler!" said the announcer, and the crowd burst into fresh cheers. Hayner noticed Roxas's troubled expression, and peered at him with concern. "Roxas?" All of them were brought back to reality as the horde of fangirls screamed Setzer's name again, and the crowd was once more attracted to his apparently ethereal glow. _Glory hound,_ growled the evil voice at the back of Roxas' head. He told it to shut up.

Suddenly, Roxas realized that Setzer was there to fight him. "Roxas, it's starting!" said Olette in hushed excitement. "You two, play fair now," said the announcer. "You're at the top of the bracket." Roxas looked nervously at Setzer, who never once lost his calm. "There's only room for one up here," he said. "Well, may the best man win!" said the announcer, and walked off. Roxas stole another glance at Setzer, who was staring at him as though he was a rather unpleasant bug. "Hey, Rucksack. How about you throw the match for me?" he asked.

"Roxas! Focus!" called Hayner, and Roxas nodded. He wasn't about to lose to some _pretty boy,_ as the voice in his head called him. _Shut up,_ he told it again. _Make me,_ said the voice. Or at least, that was what it seemed to say.

"Let me win, and I'll make it worth your while," Setzer said. He wasn't giving up. "Get real!" Roxas shot back. _Kill him dead,_ growled the voice. Roxas ignored it. "Roxas, our underdog hero, versus Setzer, our defending champion!" said the announcer. "The winner of this match will be the true champion! That's bragging rights for a whole year, folks!"

"Whatever you think is right, you're wrong," Setzer said, his voice dangerously low. "And that is a big mistake." Roxas only glared in response and went on to defeat him.

The crowd was now chanting Roxas' name. Even Setzer acknowledged his victory, and Roxas' friends crowded around him. "Roxas!" Hayner exclaimed. "You did it!" cried Olette. Roxas noticed Setzer leave, but was too happy to care. "That was awesome, Roxas!" Pence praised. Roxas waved to the crowd, their cheers ringing in his ears and filling him with a wonderful kind of pride, as he was presented with the championship belt. He held it up above his head to a deafening roar.

Later that afternoon, Roxas found himself sitting on the ledge of the clock tower with the others, the crystal trophy in hand. Slowly, he pulled off the yellow, green, and red crystals and tossed them to his friends, keeping the blue one for himself. He held it in his hand fondly, and then held it up to the setting sun, enthralled by the way it bent the light.

"As promised," Roxas said to them. Pence held up his crystal as well. "Thanks a ton, Roxas!" he said happily. "One more treasure for us to share," Hayner added. He held his out, and Olette copied him. Then she reached behind her, pulling something secret out. "I've got a present, too...for all of us." She wordlessly held out four ice cream bars. "Whoa!" said Hayner, surprised but pleased. Roxas stood up on the ledge, but as he did so, his foot slipped and he began to sway. He swung precariously from the ledge for a moment or so, and then turned and fell, the world slowing; seconds became hours...

Roxas was suddenly aware of another consciousness, a girl's, overlapping with his. He was still falling but wasn't aware of that fact. He presumed it to be Naminé and so called out to her. "Naminé? What's happening to me?" "Who are you? And that's not my name. I'm Kairi," replied the other conciousness. _Kairi...it rings a bell._ And then Roxas remembered. "Kairi...I know you. You're that girl he likes," he said. "Who? Please, a name!" Kairi pleaded.

"I'm Roxas," said Roxas, not knowing what else to say. "Okay, Roxas, but can you tell me HIS name?" Kairi asked. And then Roxas both felt and heard a voice answer her, though not his own. It was similar to the voice he heard so often in his dreams, but it was different. Older. Deeper. "You don't remember my name? Thanks a lot, Kairi! Okay, I guess I can give you a hint. Starts with an 'S'!"

It was all Roxas remembered before he fell into the void of darkness again. It seemed to know him well now.


	8. 07:the fifth day

By: whitewingedsoldier

Rated: T

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the rights to Square-Enix, Disney, or any of their characters.

**It's a pretty long chapter, because The Fifth Day is the (or the second) longest Twilight Town segment. Thanks to all my reviewers for their generous comments! I really appreciate them!**

**Kingdom Hearts**

"**Somebody"**

**Roxas' Story**

_**07//the fifth day**_

Roxas felt himself falling through darkness; silence. When it closed it around him, making him feel trapped, afraid, he opened his eyes to find himself safe and sound in his room. He sighed, sitting up. "I'm dreaming..." Roxas thought back to the day before. "But which parts...were the dream?"

Roxas took an hour or two to gather himself together, check the ingredients in his whole-wheat toast for traces of hallucinogenic drugs, and then head off to the usual spot to meet up with the others. The moment he had gotten inside and taken a seat, Olette marched up to him with her hands on her hips. "Only three days left of summer vacation—so don't even mention that assignment!" Hayner protested loudly. _Oh...right,_ Roxas thought.

"But we agreed we'd get it finished today," Olette argued. Roxas chose that moment to look up and ask, to all of them in general, "Yesterday...I fell off the station tower, didn't I?" _I just have to know. Please let it be yes..._ "You wouldn't be here if you did!" Hayner said, sounding horrified that Roxas would suggest such a thing. "But man, that was a close one," said Pence quietly.

"Stop changing the subject!" demanded Olette. Roxas rarely saw her angry side, so when she brought it out, the best choice would be to listen. "Okay already! You win. We'll do the homework," Hayner promised. "Stupid independent study. So, anybody got any bright ideas for a topic?" "Maybe," Roxas began uncertaintly, "we can study the stuff that's been happening to me. You know, the dreams—and the guys in white..."

This idea was immediately ruled out by Hayner. "Forget it." Roxas' face fell. "Why?" he asked. "You know, things have been weird with you and the town since the photos got stolen, right?" Hayner began. "Well, tomorrow, we're all gonna search the town and find out what's been goin' on," Pence finished. "Lots of people are helping out," Olette added. "All that for me?" asked Roxas in disbelief.

Then Roxas realized what this truly meant. His friends hadn't abandoned him—hadn't forgotten about him. They had been carefully planning to organize this for him, and he should be happy about it. He brightened. "I'll go get some ice cream!" he said, and ran off to retrieve it.

Once Roxas had returned with the treats, Pence brought up a rather interesting subject. "There's this strange rumor going around. Wanna hear it?" The others gave halfhearted shrugs or nods, seeing that there wasn't really a choice once someone asked that question. "You know the stone steps at Sunset Station? We use 'em all the time, without even thinking about it. But—and this is the weird part—the steps count different going up and down!"

Hayner was instantly hooked. "Seriously?!" "And there are six other weird stories like that," said Pence, nodding. "It's like...the seven wonders of Twilight Town." "We should investigate those for our school project!" said Hayner, the realization of it finally dawning on him. "Pence, you're a genius!" "There might be other rumors going around, too," said Pence. "Let's split up! I'm gonna look for the seven wonders..."

"Olette and I will go find some new rumors!" Hayner said. "C'mon!" He jumped excitedly off his perch and dashed out of the hideout. "That leaves you and me, Roxas," said Pence. "Let's try the train first. To the station!" Roxas led the way to Central Station with Pence following behind. "The time has come!" said Pence, as they arrived. "Our hunt for the seven wonders begins!"

Roxas turned around to see Olette and Hayner follow them inside, and Pence looked awestruck. "Whoa! Find new rumors already?" he asked them. "Nothing on Market Street," replied Olette. "You twerps aren't gonna scoop us," Hayner threatened. "We're going to the terrace with you." "Hayner, it's not a race!" Olette scolded. "Well, it is now!" Hayner declared. "C'mon, we can all go," said Roxas, and they boarded the train.

Roxas took a seat, and the train began to move, bringing them across town to Sunset Station. As they sat in silence, Olette slowly pulled out her yellow crystal—the one from the trophy—and held it up to the sun streaming in through the window. Hayner and Pence also took theirs out, copying Olette. Roxas smiled, noticing what they were doing, and searched for his crystal. But instead of producing it from his pocket, he turned up with nothing. _It's gone..._ His light happiness shattering into pieces, he sat there sadly, empty-handed, as the others enjoyed their moments.

Once the train ground to a halt in front of the station, Hayner shot out first like a rocket, motioning to Olette. "Olette! Hurry!" he called, nearly exploding with excitement. She hurried after him, leaving Roxas and Pence behind. Roxas walked out of the train, stretching for a moment or two before realizing where they stood. "Huh. Aren't these the steps you talked about?" Roxas asked, motioning to the stone stairs below them. "The ones that count different going up and down?"

"Umm...actually, it's the stupidest thing ever, but..." Pence began, then broke off. "What?" prompted Roxas. "Rai's the one who counted," said Pence, a smile on his face. "He's like, 'Every time I count, it's different, Y'KNOW?!'" He laughed. Roxas raised an eyebrow. "So...he just counted wrong?" he asked. Pence nodded, and Roxas sighed. "Hey, no worries," said Pence. _Yeah...there has to be more, even if this one was a disappointment,_ thought Roxas.

After consulting their map, Roxas headed off alone to a small alley that ended in a brick wall. He stared at the wall for a second, something there having caught his eye. _Was it just me, or...?_ His question was answered when a large pink ball came flying at him, and he managed to sidestep just in time to avoid getting hit. After the first ball came a second. Then a third. Then there were so many that Roxas was forced to pull out his Struggle bat and start blocking them from getting to him. Finally, he managed to strike one so that it bounced back against the wall, and the assault ended.

"Oh, it's just you, Roxas," said Pence's voice, and Roxas turned around to see him there. "Were you throwing a ball? That ball flew out of nowhere and totally startled me. Hey, I know! This explains one of those seven wonders!" _No...but...I didn't,_ thought Roxas, but didn't have the heart to say this out loud. No one would believe him if he told the truth. Grudgingly, Roxas trudged off to the underground tunnelway, the next destination on the map.

Upon entering the tunnelway, Roxas spotted Vivi standing in the middle of the floor, though he didn't seem to notice Roxas' presence. "Vivi?" he asked. Vivi looked up and locked eyes with him, giving the same eerie laugh he had given the day before. Without warning, he began to multiply until there were several Vivis standing before Roxas, laughing. Alarmed, he held his Struggle bat ready and managed to exterminate the clones, which turned into the same bizarre numerical data he had seen at first, when the strange occurrences began.

Roxas heard footsteps behind him and turned around to see Vivi walk in from the entrance of the tunnel. "What is it, Roxas?" he asked, looking confused. He held a Struggle bat in his hand. "Oh, did you need this, Roxas? Planning on getting in some practice, I bet," said Vivi, nodding approvingly. Roxas shifted his own Struggle bat from one hand to the other. "Er, no, it's just that...there were so many of you..." The words sounded stupid to him the moment he said them.

"Huh? So...many of me? I don't get it." Vivi blinked, and then apparently pushed it to the back of his mind. "Anyway, I'm done with this, Roxas. You can take your time." He turned and walked of the tunnel, and Roxas followed shortly after. As he was leaving, he ran into Pence, who looked excited. "So the mystery voice was just Vivi practicing," he explained. "Listen, there were a whole bunch of Vivi clones here just a minute ago," said Roxas, hoping Pence would believe him. "Clones?" Pence squinted in confusion. "Don't overdo it, Roxas. It's exciting, but be careful, okay?" He ran off, and Roxas sighed in exasperation.

_Don't you understand _anything screeched the voice at the back of Roxas' head, which had been bothering him since yesterday. It was as if Roxas had split into two different Roxases: the one who lived in Twilight Town and hung out with his friends, and the one who was cold, sarcastic, and had an obvious attitude problem. That was the one who lived in the back of his mind.

As Roxas gloomily walked by a small waterfall tucked away in a corner of the terrace, he stopped as he saw himself reflected in it. _What?_ He gazed at it slowly. _Running water usually doesn't show your reflection..._ Roxas was even more startled as the mirror image of himself walked _out_ of the water and passed right through him, morphing into a shadow version of himself and turning to face him. _Why is there never anyone else here to witness these events?_ Roxas and the voice both wondered at the same time, and he pulled out his Struggle bat and proceeded to thrash the shadow senseless.

Somehow, Roxas ended up on the ground, but the shadow of himself also fell and disappeared in a flash of rotating numbers. "Roxas!" he heard a voice call, and saw Pence running towards him. Slowly, Roxas picked himself up off the ground and dusted himself off. "You all right?" asked Pence. Roxas didn't answer. He turned to look at the waterfall, and his reflection looked innocently back at him. He could just see the halo above its head. _Stop it,_ he told himself.

"Now that's spooky!" Pence went on. "I thought I saw someone, but it was just my reflection. I bet this is behind one of the seven wonders!" That mystery having been solved, Pence walked off. Roxas stayed behind, staring at his reflection. "Another...me?" The thoughts spinning in his head, he wandered up to Sunset Hill, one of the most scenic areas in town.

But once Roxas made it to the top of the hill, he saw a strange sight: a garbage bag, or something like it, moving as though it were alive. Roxas decided not to take any chances this time and jumped on it, holding on for dear life until it exhausted itself and finally stopped moving. Slowly, he crawled off, shaking his head. "Yikes." As Roxas stared at the bag, a dog walked out of it...or had it come from the other side? Pence came up the hill as well, and he looked from Roxas to the dog. "Oh, it was just a dog. Did you let it out of the sack, Roxas?"

"This explains one of those seven wonders," said Pence. Roxas turned to him. "You know, that last wonder wasn't exactly wonderful," he said, borrowing a witty comment from the voice in his head. Pence nodded knowingly. "I understand, say no more. But this next one's gonna be really great!" he said. "Wonder Number Six!"

"We got another lead!" called a voice, and Roxas and Pence turned around to see Hayner and Olette running towards them. "'The Ghost Train Mystery'," said Olette. "Everyone knows about Wonder Number Six!" said Pence. "Yeah, well, I didn't," said Hayner, in his 'I'm-better-than-you-so-there' voice. Stop _it_, Roxas nearly screamed at the voice in his head.

"Did you find out where the train runs?" asked Roxas, hoping to get the voice to shut up. "You can see it from Sunset Hill," said Olette. The foursome walked up to the top of the hill, and Pence told the story as they walked. "If the rumors are true, it'll be here any minute...for they say the train is empty. No driver, no conductor, no passengers...NO RETURN," he said, in an attempt to create some drama.

After waiting for some time, Roxas and his friends eventually found themselves down on the ground, reminiscing about the summer that was almost gone. "We've gotta make it to the beach next year," said Olette. "Yeah. We better get jobs the second vacation starts," said Hayner, nodding. Roxas had heard the footsteps approaching, but his thoughts and the voice in his head were currently arguing about something or another, and so the person to whom the footsteps belonged was forced to say something. "Good afternoon, slackers."

Roxas turned around to see Seifer standing there, watching them. "What are you doing out here?" Seifer asked. "What do you care?" Hayner shot back. "I don't. Tell me anyway," said Seifer, his eyes narrowing. "We're waiting for the ghost train," Pence explained. Seifer broke into a cruel smile. "Waiting for the ghost train!" he said mockingly, copying Pence's tone of voice. Roxas' thoughts managed to silence the voice and he stood up, annoyed.

As he noticed he had an opponent, Seifer's smile faded. "Why does looking at you always tick me off?" he asked. _Like I would know,_ the voice piped up. Roxas would have kicked it, had it been a person. "I don't know," he replied calmly. "Maybe it's destiny." "Destiny..." Seifer repeated. Then he smirked. "In that case, let's be friends. I don't feel like cooperating with destiny."

_What's that supposed to mean? _screeched both Roxas and the voice simultaneously. "When have you ever cooperated with anything?" Hayner shot back. Seifer swiveled to face him, and then, somehow, through some twist of fate, he left. "Seifer!" Olette called after him. "I know," he called over his shoulder. "Tomorrow."

In the meantime, Roxas' eye had caught something moving towards them, and he turned to look at the railroad tracks. What he saw made him nearly explode with excitement. "Look!" he called to the others, and they turned to see a mysterious dark-colored train slowly pull through the underpass. "It's really true...and there's really no one aboard!" Roxas exclaimed. "What's the catch? There's gotta be a catch, right?" He looked back at the others, who exchanged glances, but said nothing.

"Then it's real? Let's go to the station!" Roxas said, his leadership skills kicking in. He led the way down the hill and across the terrace, the others running after him. When they reached the station, the train was stopped there, waiting. As though it were waiting for Roxas.

"Let's go in!" Roxas suggested, stepping forward to go first, but to his surprise, Hayner held out an arm to stop him. "What?" asked Roxas, shocked. "Um...you'll get hurt," Hayner offered. Roxas blinked. _Forget this,_ said the voice. He turned back to look at the train, only to find that it had disappeared. "Huh?" Roxas stared in disbelief. _But I just saw it!_ A voice blared over the speakers above him, but he paid no attention. Not even when the usual orange train arrived, yielding several passengers, Rai, and Fuu.

"C'mon," said Hayner, sounding worried. But Roxas wouldn't give up so easily. "A train came from the beach. There was no driver, right?" he asked, turning to them. They _had_ to answer him. "Let's go," said Pence uncertainly. "Right?!" Roxas asked again, the desperation creeping into his voice. He gestured to Olette, but she shook her head. Hayner wisely stepped forward and shoved Roxas into the train, and the others followed him inside.

Once the train had arrived back at Central Station and the four of them had gotten off, they headed back to the hideout, discussing the day's finds. "Let's go home and work on the paper," said Hayner to the others. Pence sighed. "'The rumors were bogus. The End'," he said, obviously disappointed. "We can still make it sound good if we write about all the work we did," said Olette helpfully. Roxas, however, had stopped, thinking. "But what about the last one—the seventh wonder?" he asked. "Who cares?" Hayner asked, dismissing it from being important. The voice was about to say something, but Roxas cut it off. "I do. C'mon, Pence," he said, dead serious.

"Whatever!" Hayner said in exasperation. "Roxas," said Olette in a pitying tone. Roxas could see that they were frustrated because he would not give up. Pence sighed. "It's at that haunted mansion." Roxas found this to be answer enough and headed off by himself to the mansion, not even looking back as Pence and Olette followed Hayner.

A minute or two later, Roxas found himself outside the walls, staring up at the old house. A slight breeze ruffled his hair. "You know something," said a voice behind him, and Roxas jumped to see Pence walk up. "We were gonna check this mansion out tomorrow. It IS the most suspicious place." "Right," said Roxas, only half-listening. "Even Seifer's gang was gonna help," Pence continued. "Seifer?" asked Roxas, incredulous.

"Yeah, Hayner asked him to," said Pence. Roxas focused his attention on the mansion's dusty window, barely able to glimpse an outline of a girl there. _Naminé? _"So, what are we lookin' for?" Roxas asked, remembering why they were there. "Well, they say there's a girl who appears at the second floor window..." Pence looked up as well. "Even though no one's lived here for years."

Roxas looked back up at the window, and almost magically, was pulled in through some mysterious force. He wasn't sure if his entire body was inside the room or just his consciousness, but he could see inside. The room was painted white, and a multitude of pictures lined the walls. Some even littered the floor, there were so many. A long white table was placed in the center of the room. But Roxas did not get to freely look for long, because someone else's consciousness was guiding his vision through the room. His gaze settled on the walls, focusing on a picture of a girl and a star-shaped fruit.

"Roxas," said a voice, and Roxas knew at once who it was. "Naminé?" he called out. She did not answer him, but he was now staring at another of the pictures. The characters in it looked familiar. "This is...me?" He stared at a sandy-haired figure on the left, and then at a red-haired figure on its right. "And Axel's here too." "You ARE best friends," Naminé informed him. "Very funny," said Roxas, humor in his tone.

"Don't you want to know the truth...about who you really are?" asked Naminé's voice. "No one knows me...better than me," said Roxas, and in his mind's eye he could see Naminé nodding. "Of course," she agreed. "But...I don't get what's been happening lately," Roxas continued. His focus shifted to a picture of three now-familiar characters. "You know these three, don't you?" Naminé asked him. Roxas would have nodded, if he could. "Yeah. Sora, Donald, and Goofy. They're from the dreams," he said.

"A year ago, some things happened, and I had to take apart the memories chained together in Sora's heart. But now...I'm putting them all back, exactly the way they were," Naminé began. "It's taken me a long time, but pretty soon Sora will be his old self again. The process has been affecting you, too, Roxas." "You mean...the dreams?" Roxas asked. "Yes...you and Sora are connected," said Naminé. "And...in order for Sora to become completely whole again..."

Roxas saw now that there was a picture of himself on the wall, in front of his eyes. "He needs you." The little version of himself was holding hands with Sora. "Me? What for?" Roxas inquired. "You hold half of what he is...he needs you, Roxas," Naminé said again. "Naminé?" Roxas asked, and he felt the other consciousness release his. When he could see and think and feel again, he was sitting at one end of the long white table. Naminé sat on the other.

Roxas felt that now, if ever, was the right time to ask this question. "Naminé...who are you?" Naminé's expression looked pained, as if she hadn't wanted to tell him. "I'm a witch with power over Sora's memories and those around him," she said. Roxas's eyes widened. "A witch?" he asked. Naminé indicated herself. "That's what DiZ called me. But I don't know why I have this power...I just do. I'm not even sure there's a right way for me to use it," she said sadly.

Roxas smiled. "Hmm...can't help you there," he said. He turned to look at the drawing of himself and Axel again. "It's funny...suddenly I feel like I don't know myself at all." He paused. "I guess I would like to know. What do you know about me...that I don't?" Roxas looked back at Naminé, waiting patiently. She took her time, and then said, slowly and painstakingly, "You...you were never supposed to exist, Roxas."

Roxas was appalled. "What...?" He stared across the table in horror. "How could you say such a thing...even if it _were_ true?" "I'm sorry," said Naminé quietly. "I guess...some things really are better left unsaid." After she spoke those words, Roxas could feel his consciousness slipping away from hers, and he could distinctly feel Pence shaking his shoulder vigorously.

"Roxas! ROXAS!" Roxas snapped out of his trance and looked at Pence, disoriented. "What?" he managed to ask. "Did you see her?" Pence asked, obviously curious. Roxas nodded, and then pointed to the window. "Yeah. Watch the window—closely." But when Roxas looked back at the window, he saw that Naminé had gone.

"Oh, lame," said Pence, sounding disappointed. "That's just the curtains moving. There must be a draft somewhere. I'm surprised this old place even _has_ curtains." He turned to leave. Roxas looked back up at the window and saw Naminé watching him from there, her eyes locked on his. Slowly, Roxas turned to follow. "...yeah."

"Well, let's head back to the usual spot. Hayner and Olette are waiting," said Pence. Roxas dutifully followed him back to the hideout, where they were greeted by Olette. "Hey guys, how'd it go?" "The girl in the window turned out to be a curtain flapping in the wind," said Pence, sighing. "I figured as much," said Olette. "The report's already done." "All right!" said Pence, joy restored. "So, wanna go find Hayner? He's probably at the station," said Olette, and Roxas looked up to see that Hayner was not with them.

"You know...we only have two more days together," said Olette, and Roxas looked at her strangely. "Huh?" "Summer vacation, remember?" Olette reminded him. "Oh...yeah," said Roxas, distantly. He was still lost in thought as he followed Pence and Olette to the station.

_Naminé said I was never supposed to exist...what does that mean? And if it really was true, then what am I doing here? Why...do I exist?_ Roxas looked down at his hands, sighed, and walked the rest of the way behind his friends. They found Hayner at the top of the clock tower ledge, eating ice cream.

"Tomorrow we search the town," said Hayner, as they approached. "Next day's the fair," said Pence, and Olette added, "The last day of summer." "Don't say that!" Hayner moaned, looking genuinely pained. "You'll give me an ulcer!" "Not if you explode from all that ice cream first," said Pence, and they all laughed—all except Roxas. His mind was filled with his confused thoughts. Even the voice was silent.

_Naminé also said that Sora...whoever and wherever he is...will wake up soon. And since the process is affecting me...when that happens...what will happen to me?_


	9. 08:the sixth day

By: whitewingedsoldier

Rated: T

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the rights to Square-Enix, Disney, or any of their characters.

**Kingdom Hearts**

"**Somebody"**

**Roxas' Story**

_**08//the sixth day**_

Even though he was asleep, Roxas knew that the memories played in his head every night were drawing to a close. Sora and his friends had defeated a man named Ansem, and closing the door to something called Kingdom Hearts. It sounded very familiar to Roxas, as though it was something he ought to know, but couldn't remember.

But as Sora's memories ended, memories that had nothing to do with Sora came flooding into Roxas' mind, flashing before his eyes. A cloaked figure, fighting hundreds upon thousands of Heartless—two cloaked figures, speaking on a beach—two cloaked figures fighting, sparks flying. In his bed, Roxas' eyes opened, and he sat up as though in a trance. He felt different—heavier? He felt as though an empty spot inside him had filled in.

After grabbing a slice of homemade bread, which Roxas _knew_ couldn't have any harmful substances in it, he headed down to the usual spot. Hayner, Pence, and Olette were there already as he pushed aside the curtain to enter. "Man, I could _not_ sleep last night," he said, by way of greeting, but—no one replied. _That's strange..._

"Guys?" Roxas reached towards Hayner, but to his great surprise, his hand passed through him as though he were a ghost. "Huh?" Roxas stared at his hand in horror. He took a step backwards and watched as his friends laughed soundlessly, not even knowing he existed. They ran _through_ him and out the door, not knowing he was there at all. _What happened? Did I die last night? Am I...a ghost?_

Roxas sighed and reached over for something resting on a table; a picture of his friends. It had once included him, but now he saw, with mounting fright, that he was no longer in that picture. Feeling a need to release his emotions, Roxas bounded out of the hideout, but the strange white creatures—_Dusks,_ reminded the voice in his head—popped out of nowhere and cornered him. Roxas heard a bizarre blast behind him and turned around to see the red-headed Axel standing there.

"Look at what it's come to," said Axel, holding out his hands. "I've been given these icky orders to destroy you—if you refuse to come back with me." He sounded as though he truly did not want to destroy Roxas. "We're...best friends, right?" Roxas asked, testing his new piece of information. Axel brought a gloved hand to his head. "Sure...but I'm not getting turned into a Dusk for—" He paused in amazement, and then his eyes widened. "Wait a sec! You mean you remember now?!"

Roxas could almost feel the relief and joy that was emanating from Axel sweeping over him. "Y...eah," he agreed, hoping he didn't sound too uncertain. _Way to go,_ congratulated the voice sarcastically. Roxas snapped at it in his head.

"Great!" said Axel, and Roxas knew he meant it. "But, you know, gotta make sure and all. So, umm...what's our boss's name?" He sounded breathless and excited. _I must have been very important somehow, if he's this happy about me remembering,_ Roxas marveled. But he kept silent. He did not know 'their' boss's name. _We worked together?_ Roxas wondered. His silence rewarded him with a sad sigh from Axel.

"Can't believe this," Axel said, and Roxas would have said something to cheer him up, had not an explosion of sound and color in his hand yielded the Keyblade. Quickly he exterminated the Dusks around him, and turned to face Axel, dreading the inevitable fight. But as Axel readied his chakrams, bringing them up to strike—he froze solid in mid-movement. Roxas noticed and stopped, confused. That was when he heard the voice thunder in his head, and it sounded familiar. It wasn't the usual voice, either.

"Roxas, to the mansion! The time has come!"

Roxas didn't want to be a part of this. He didn't want to fight Axel, or the Dusks, or go to the mansion. He didn't want to have to listen to the voice making saucy comments or have to see the Keyblade anymore. All he wanted was his old life back—the last days of summer, with his friends. Tilting his head to the sky, he shouted the only thing he could use to find solace; the names of his friends. "Hayner! Pence! Olette!" But of course, calling them would not bring them back.

Resigned to doing what the familiar voice commanded, Roxas ran all the way to the mansion only to find that the gates were still barricaded shut. What was more, the Dusks had followed him and were now dancing behind him in their fashion, waiting to strike. Roxas sighed at the lock on the gate. "Don't call me and then lock me out," he said, more to himself than to whoever might be listening.

And then Roxas was struck with a brilliant idea. In his dreams he had seen the boy, Sora, use the very same Keyblade he was holding to lock and unlock keyholes. Could he maybe do the same...? He figured, whether it worked or not, that it was at least worth a try. Slowly, Roxas stepped back and held out the Keyblade, not knowing if he was supposed to think a certain thought or say something, but his problem was solved when the gate opened for him, and he ran through—inside and all the way up to a familiar room.

It was the room he and Naminé had spoken in the day before. Everything was exactly the same as he remembered it, even the pictures on the floor. Roxas walked around, examining and admiring the pictures, until he stopped near one of himself, in an alleyway of the city he had seen in his dreams.

Almost at once, a piercing, splitting pain shrieked through Roxas' head. He gasped in shock, hoping it would disappear, but it steadily worsened. He gripped his head with both hands, frustrated and in pain, as memories that seemed to be his, but that he could not recall, flashed before his eyes. Slowly, he closed his eyes and just watched as they played back.

x x x x

Thunder rumbled ominously in a darkened sky as Roxas marched purposefully down the street, passing Axel, who was leaning with folded arms against a wall. "Your mind's made up?" he called, as Roxas walked on. He stopped, turning to give an answer. "Why did the Keyblade choose me? I have to know," he said. "You can't turn on the Organization!" Axel nearly shouted. The scene flickered and faded to black.

Back in the all-white room, Roxas realized that Naminé had come to join him. "Organization XIII," he said, not knowing how he knew that, "...they're a bad group." It was his opinion. "Bad or good, I don't know," Naminé confessed. "They're a group of incomplete people who wish to be whole. To that end, they're desperately searching for something." "What?" asked Roxas, curious. "Kingdom Hearts," said Naminé, as though it was something supernatural. Perhaps it was.

For some reason, Roxas gave a small laugh. "Funny?" Naminé asked him. "It's just, I think..." Roxas thought of how to best phrase his words. "I've been running away from the question I really wanna ask..." He walked up to the table and leaned on it. "What's gonna happen to me now?" It was something he'd thought about all night. "Just tell me that. Nothing else...really matters anymore." His old life was gone. He might as well educate himself about his new one.

"You are..." Naminé began, but before she could go on, her figure flickered. "Naminé!" Roxas called, but Naminé disappeared, splitting into data and vanishing. The man wrapped in crimson bandages from a day or two before suddenly appeared before Roxas, looking intimidating. "There is no knowledge that has the power to change your fate," he said gravely.

_So it's something bad...I figured as much,_ thought Roxas, trying hard not to panic. _But I can't be afraid. I can fight this!_ "Even if it doesn't, I wanna know," he said, putting on a brave face. "I have the right to know!" "A Nobody doesn't have the right to know," countered the mysterious man, making it sound as though he was supremely correct. "Nor does it even have the right to _be_."

_Not supposed to exist...no right to be...a Nobody..._ Roxas' thoughts were swirling in his head again. _Naminé said that yesterday. That I should never have existed._ "But what IS a Nobody?!" Roxas asked in exasperation. He may or may not have gotten an answer, but a man in a black hood appeared beside the bandaged man. "DiZ, we're out of time," he said. "Too many Nobodies!"

But what caught Roxas' attention was a portal at the back of the room, out of which Naminé appeared. "Roxas," she said, giving the impression that he should listen—which he did. "Nobodies like us are only half a person. You won't disappear. You'll be whole!" "I'll...disappear...?" Roxas asked, trying to register the deep meaning of the words. _Is that...like...die? I'll die?!_

"No further outbursts!" reprimanded the man called DiZ. Roxas was still recovering from his initial shock, but Naminé called to him, "No, you _won't_ disappear! You'll—" But she was cut off as DiZ seized her and covered her mouth to prevent her from saying any more. "Wait!" Roxas cried, trying to run to them, but the man in the hood blocked his path. Naminé managed to wrench DiZ's hand away and call out,

"Roxas! We will meet again. And then we can talk about everything. I may not know it's you, and you may not know it's me. But we will meet again. Someday soon. I promise!"

She and DiZ began to fade away into the portal, but Roxas wanted to know more. _What does she mean? I'll always be able to recognize her! _"Let her go!" he shouted to DiZ, but was unsure if he could even hear him anymore. The portal and the man in the hood suddenly vanished, and Roxas stretched out his left hand, disappointment welling up inside him. "Naminé!"

But she was gone. Frustrated, Roxas burst out of the room and wandered the mansion until he came to the library, in the middle of which there was a table and what looked like chalk. He had seen a mark similar to the one on the table and so drew in the missing pieces, only to feel the floor rumble under his feet. He ran off to the side to avoid falling in as the floor entirely disappeared, revealing a much more modern-looking basement. Curious now, Roxas headed down the new set of stairs and through a door.

Through this door, the first thing that caught Roxas' eye was a large set of monitors. He walked up to it slowly, wanting to see what was displayed on the screen, when a monstrous, cleaving pain took over his head again. It was much worse than it had been before, and he could hear a high-pitched ringing in his ears now. Roxas groaned in pain, clutching his head; he felt as though someone had thrown something heavy at him. He clenched his teeth, gripped his hair, and once more waited out the pain as the scenes raced by in blurs.

Roxas could now remember a significant amount of things. He remembered a large white room, the walls lined with chairs, on which each member of Organization XIII perched. He took up the last spot, on chair thirteen. Pieces of other memories he had seen before whipped before his eyes; himself being chased by Dusks, fighting the silver-haired stranger in the Dark City.

And then a new memory: one Roxas could and could not remember. He faintly remembered the room, but not overhearing the conversation. He could see two people he had just met: DiZ and the hooded man. In the background, Roxas saw himself lying underneath a strange contraption, dazed and half-conscious. "Will it work?" asked the hooded man of DiZ.

"If we can maintain the simulated town until Naminé finishes chaining together Sora's memories," answered DiZ. "What will happen to Roxas?" asked the hooded man. "He holds half of Sora's power within him," said DiZ. "In the end, he'll have to give it back."

DiZ turned and walked towards the monitors, staring at the screen. "Until then, he'll need another personality to throw off his pursuers." "Poor thing," said the hooded man in pity, looking down at Roxas. DiZ pressed a few buttons on the keyboard, and gave a halfhearted answer, as though he didn't care much. "It's the fate of a Nobody." The Roxas in the background disappeared in a flash of data.

x x x x

Roxas felt the excruciating pain in his head die away, and he glared angrily at the computer in front of him. _That DiZ guy and the man in the hood...they did this to me! They put me in Twilight Town, and took away all my memories...or maybe it was because Sora lost all his. Then the voice at the back of my head must be the real me...the me I was before I became the one who lived in Twilight Town._

Blinded by rage, Roxas did the only thing he felt he could do—destroy. He released a savage roar and summoned the Keyblade, proceeding to smash the computer to oblivion. Finally, when he was satisifed with his work and panting, Roxas stood, having heard a door behind him open. _It couldn't hurt, now that I've come this far,_ he thought, and walked inside.

The minute he stepped inside, Roxas was immediately surrounded by Nobodies, which he quickly got out of the way. He stood a minute or two later to see Axel walk into the room, arms crossed. "Simply amazing, Roxas," he said, in a tone of voice that Roxas had not yet heard. "Axel," Roxas said, acknowledging his presence there.

"You really do remember me this time?" Axel asked, though he sounded as though he was not expecting an answer. "I'm SO FLATTERED." The moment after he spoke those words, the room erupted in flames. Roxas jumped in surprise, feeling the searing heat at his back. "But you're too late!!" Axel shouted above the roar. _So he knows I remember him truly now,_ Roxas thought. _But what does he mean by 'too late'?_

It was then that Roxas realized he would have to fight to knock some sense into his best friend. Axel had already gotten his orders, meaning Roxas could not do anything to change them. Somehow, with some hidden knowledge, he managed to pull out two Keyblades; one white, and the other black—Oathkeeper and Oblivion. He was whole Roxas again. The voice was gone.

"Two?!" cried Axel in surprise. But Roxas said nothing. Slowly, Axel held out his arms, and his blazing chakrams appeared there. He raised his head and smiled at Roxas. "Come here. I'll make it all stop." And the clash began.

In his mind, Roxas now knew that it was a dear friend he faced, and the bitter emotions began to build inside him. He did not want to fight, or be fought against, but it seemed that it was the only choice. His Keyblades met Axel's chakrams with loud metallic clangs, the sparks unable to be seen in the midst of the blazing flames. They slashed at each other, and in Axel's case, flung things at each other, but eventually Roxas won out. He fell gracefully to the ground, the Keyblades disappearing as he landed.

The flames in the room were dissipating; steam and smoke filled the air now. Axel was slumped over, breathing hard, and Roxas watched him, remembering the time in the alley that they had spoken.

"You get on their bad side and they'll destroy you!" Axel shouted as a warning. Roxas turned so that Axel could hear him, and said, in a bored and cold tone, "No one would miss me." "That's not true!" Axel protested, and then sighed, looking down at the ground. Roxas could hear, faintly, the last thing he said before he was out of earshot: "I would."

Back in the steam-filled room, Roxas watched with a combination of sadness and tranquility as Axel began to fade away, the darkness swirling around him. "Axel..." Roxas' face fell. He didn't want to say goodbye. Not here. Not now. "Let's meet again in the next life," said Axel, not looking Roxas in the eyes. Roxas nodded. "Yeah. I'll be waiting," he said, wanting to offer some form of reassurance. That it wouldn't be so frightening and lonesome wherever he was going. "Silly," said Axel, shaking his head and finally looking up, "just because you have a next life..."

Roxas watched sadly as Axel disappeared, but somehow got the feeling that he would be all right. His gaze focused on another door off in the corner, and he stepped through it, looking around. Roxas was in a bright corridor now, and dusty pods lined the walls. What he saw inside two of them made him stop dead in his tracks. "...Donald? Goofy?" Sora's friends were asleep inside.

Roxas turned to see a final door awaiting him, and walked through into a room brighter than even Naminé's. DiZ was waiting there for him, standing in front of an enormous pod. "At last, the Keyblade's chosen one," greeted DiZ. "Who are you talking to?" Roxas prompted. "Me? Or Sora?" For it must be Sora that was sleeping inside the large pod; Roxas knew it. He felt most whole here.

"To half of Sora, of course," DiZ answered. "You reside in darkness. What I need is someone who can move about the realm of light and destroy Organization XIII." "Why?" Roxas shot back. "Who are you?" "I am a servant of the world," answered DiZ, not missing a beat. He laughed. "And if I'm a servant, then you should consider yourself a tool, at best."

"Was that..." Roxas could barely contain his anger at this man's ignorance. "Was that supposed to be a joke?" He held out his hand and allowed the Keyblade to appear there. "'Cause I'm not laughing!" In a fit of rage, he charged at DiZ, the Keyblade poised to strike. However, instead of connecting, the blade swept right through, creating a wave of data. Roxas, surprised, stood at full height and waited for an answer.

"My apologies. This is only a data-based projection," said DiZ, sounding pleased. Frustrated beyond all means, Roxas yelled wordlessly at the ceiling and turned to strike the projection of DiZ with the Keyblade, venting all his anger on something that couldn't even be touched. Gradually, DiZ vanished and reappeared behind Roxas, allowing him to catch his breath.

"Come, over here," DiZ called. He seemed to be enjoying torturing Roxas, who swept through the air with his Keyblade in anger. "I hate you _so_ much," he said, not caring if DiZ cared. "You should share some of that hatred with Sora," suggested DiZ. "He's far too nice for his own good." Roxas sliced through the air again. "No! My heart belongs to me!" he cried, running to slice through DiZ again. But the projection disappeared, and Roxas instead struck the pod, watching as it opened like a flower to reveal its innards.

"Sora," said Roxas, gazing upon the sleeping boy inside. _Could someone like that really have made someone like me?_ All of his memories had been restored now; he could remember meeting Axel and Naminé for the first time, in the World that Never Was—fighting Riku in the Dark City. _Our mission, to find Kingdom Hearts and become whole again. We need Sora to do that. And here he is..._

"You're lucky," said Roxas, to the sleeping Sora. "Looks like my summer vacation is..." He looked down at the ground. "Over."


	10. 09:reunion

By: whitewingedsoldier

Rated: T

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the rights to Square-Enix, Disney, or any of their characters.

**Information:** This chapter summarizes Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories.

**I haven't forgotten about this fic, I've just been out of ideas for a long time. Hopefully updates will go a bit faster now.**

**Kingdom Hearts**

"**Somebody"**

**Roxas' Story**

_**09//reunion**_

Somewhere inside of himself, Roxas knew that within the next five minutes, Sora would awaken. And Roxas had to remove himself from Sora's presence, quickly. He slipped away out of the door he had come through and ran back through the mansion, finding the open portal Axel had disappeared through. _This still looks usable,_ he thought. Slowly, testing to see whether or not he still had the power, Roxas put out a hand and activated the darkness.

The next instant, Roxas found himself standing in rather a familiar place; one of the back alleys of the Dark City. He smiled to himself. _The closest place I can be to home._ The illusion of Twilight Town was already out of his mind; his former friends mere shadows. He had no cloak with him but could always get another, and so he walked leisurely down the street with nothing to fear. Hopefully he would be able to explain his situation to the Superior: he had been kidnapped by Riku and DiZ and had been placed into a town of DiZ's creation to throw off Organization XIII's attempts to recover him.

But then he realized—if they had been trying to get him to come back, then they already knew. And if they knew, he was all right. It hadn't been his fault, and they understood. Hopefully. Roxas felt fresh and raw, having just regained his memories of the time he had spent here, and wondered if he would fit in as he had before. _I wasn't exactly welcomed with open arms, but I was accepted,_ he thought, as his feet brought him down a dark alleyway.

"Roxas!" a voice suddenly said, and Roxas tensed, summoning the Keyblade in case it was an enemy. But as he turned around, he saw a flash of unmistakable red hair. "...Axel?" Lowering the Keyblade, Roxas approached his best friend, who was beckoning hurriedly to him. "How did you get here? I thought you were...gone," said Roxas to Axel, who shook his head. "I came straight here, but there's no time! It's not safe here anymore!"

"What are you talking about?" queried Roxas, puzzled. _The World that Never Was has always been safe._ "I'll explain everything later. Come on! We have to get out of here!" Axel stretched out a hand, but Roxas stepped back, wary. "This is just like before! I want to know what's going on..._now_." Axel sighed. "Fine, have it your way. But you won't like what I'm going to say."

Roxas looked into Axel's green eyes. "I won't run away." "All right, then..." Axel sighed. "Sora is awake. You probably knew that already, but I thought you should know anyway. Now that he's regained consciousness, you'll be affected. You won't be able to do some of the things you could do before." "I don't care about that!" Roxas pointed the Keyblade directly at Axel's throat. "Back there—in the fake Twilight Town—that bandaged man, DiZ or whatever, wanted to use me for something. He wanted me...to turn against you and the Organization."

"See, that's the thing." Axel shook his head. "The Organization...they're not the people you used to know." "What?" Roxas blinked. "What do you mean?" "Now that Sora's awake, they're going to be heading anywhere and everywhere to get their hands on him and chain his powers for their own use. Some of their methods are a little...extreme. Even now, they're planning on throwing Sora a little... 'surprise party' when he reunites with his friends. I'm not gonna have any part in it."

"Just what is it that they're trying to do?" asked Roxas. But before Axel could answer, a Dusk materialized from out of nowhere, heading threateningly towards the two of them. "Roxas, c'mon! I'll explain everything!" Axel's voice carried a definite pang of fear. Realizing this, slowly, Roxas nodded. "Okay." "Let's go!" Axel grabbed Roxas' wrist and pulled him into a dark portal, which closed behind them.

The world seemed as if it was spinning all around them. Roxas shut his eyes tightly, his stomach churning perilously. But just as soon as the journey began, it was over, and he collapsed to the ground in a familiar-looking place. Panting, Roxas got to his feet, looking around. "...the mansion in Twilight Town?" Axel nodded. "But this is the _real_ Twilight Town, not that data one. We can talk here. No one will ever know we even passed through these doors."

"All right." Roxas took a seat in a nearby crimson armchair. "First question...who exactly is this..._DiZ_?" "It stands for 'Darkness in Zero', because the person behind the name ended up in the zero world—where Nobodies like you and me live. DiZ is Ansem's codename—Ansem the Wise, former ruler of what's known as Hollow Bastion. That's where Xemnas and the others are headed," said Axel. "Xemnas?" Roxas asked. Axel nodded. "The Superior's name."

"Okay. Ansem. And the hooded man that's with him?" Roxas folded his hands in his lap. "You of all people should know that. It's Riku...in a different body," answered Axel. "When Naminé worked her magic on Sora, he fell asleep—you've seen that. Riku wanted to help Sora wake up, but he and Ansem had no idea why he was asleep in the first place. To know that, they needed Naminé. Before he got to her, we had her. Then he took her, and she switched sides."

"So Naminé's working for Ansem?" asked Roxas, incredulous. _No way! But..._ "When I met Naminé in the fake Twilight Town, it was like...like she was being enslaved by Ansem. He could call her back anytime he wanted. And he dragged her away when she talked to me, to stop her from telling me something important. The last thing she told me was that I wouldn't disappear, and that we'd meet again." He sighed. "I don't understand anything that's been going on."

Axel looked sympathetic. "I know what you mean. It's possible that Ansem's only got Naminé because he promised her something in exchange for her work. See...when Marluxia had her, she unchained the memories in Sora's heart. Now that Ansem's got her, she's putting them all back the way they were. You have to remember...I tested Sora when he was in Castle Oblivion." "Oh...right..." Roxas nodded. "What did you learn while you were there?"

"Well...Naminé...she got into Sora's heart. She replaced his memories of Kairi with memories of herself. And...me, and Larxene, and the others that were there...we knew the rest of the Organization was bad news from the start. Even then, we were plotting against them. But to finish the job, we needed _you_, and no one knew where you were until now. I volunteered to come and get you." Axel ran a hand through his hair. "But you resisted. You were confused...you had no idea what was happening, since Ansem had erased all your memories of us and replaced them with fake memories of Twilight Town."

"And the others...what were they there for?" asked Roxas. "Well, while Sora was in Castle Oblivion, Riku was there too. It was the job of Zexion and Lexaeus to keep an eye on him, while Larxene and I watched Sora. Vexen was kind of like the wild card; he'd flip to both sides. _And_ he created the replica Riku, meant to coax the new memories that Naminé created out of Sora's heart, to confuse him. Those were basically the roles we played. And in the meantime, while she was unchaining Sora's memories, Naminé was trying to figure out how to include you in it all...and why she and you were different. I think she's got it now, though."

_That's right, she told me...Sora and Kairi...the way they lost their hearts were different. So we're different from the other Nobodies,_ thought Roxas. "But there's something you ought to know," said Axel quietly, and Roxas looked up. "What?" "The replica of Riku didn't work...all it and Sora did was fight. It got Sora mad, sure...but then Marluxia took over. Xemnas had put him in charge, and Vexen wanted to helm the project. Marluxia ordered him to destroy Sora, so that Xemnas wouldn't find out that the project had gone wrong. I knew that was when I had to step in...I needed Sora. _You_ needed Sora."

"And then..." The information was intriguing now. "Vexen nearly told Sora about you. And he couldn't know yet; it was much too early. Vexen crafted a memory version of Twilight Town—where you were as Sora was racing around in the castle. We couldn't let Sora find out about you, or Twilight Town, or the 'other side'...so just as Vexen was about to spill the beans, I stepped in and finished him off." Roxas' eyes bugged out. "You _killed_ him?" "I had to, Roxas! He betrayed us all! He would have ruined the entire plan! Don't you understand...it was for the greater good."

Roxas was nearly out of his chair before he changed his mind and sat back down. "Okay. Okay...I understand. Go on," he said calmly, and Axel nodded, though he looked slightly surprised. "Well, by that time, Marluxia was in on the plan with Larxene and I. We were going to overthrow the Organization once and for all...but I didn't trust him. Not yet. I couldn't be sure that he wouldn't turn on us like Vexen did. I sent Naminé to finish the job even though Marluxia hadn't ordered it...I made her go back and reveal the truth to Sora. You see, Roxas...if everything had gone the way Larxene and Marluxia had wanted it to, Sora would have been bowing down to us by now. He would be our puppet to command...but I couldn't."

"So...so...let me get this straight. Marluxia had Naminé under his control. But when he wasn't looking, you sent her to Sora and had her tell him that everything she'd done was a lie...something she created. If you hadn't done that, Sora would have thought that his fake memories were true...and then you would be free to pull the strings from the shadows," deduced Roxas. Axel smiled. "Exactly. But that wasn't the hard part. The hard part was getting Naminé to do anything. She didn't want to hurt Sora...he was connected to you, and she didn't want to hurt you, either. Marluxia had to coerce her into tampering with Sora's memories...it was either that, or stay locked in Castle Oblivion forever."

Roxas nodded. "Go ahead. I won't interrupt anymore," he said. "Right. So...it was all a huge mess then. We were all calling each other traitors, Larxene was destroyed by Sora...Naminé escaped. Marluxia had found out what I had done and was absolutely furious...without Sora, and without Naminé, he couldn't overthrow the Organization. I had to pretend I was still under his command, and then turn on him at the last minute. But he was the traitor, really...he wanted to overthrow Xemnas and the others loyal to him. In the meantime, Sora had obsessed himself over Naminé, thinking she was someone he had to protect."

Axel rubbed his head wearily. "He turned against me, even though I said I was on his side. But even though he bested me, my job wasn't done. I disappeared...from what I heard, that fake Riku and Sora took on Marluxia...a projection first, and then the real thing. By then, nothing mattered anymore...everything had been turned upside down. Marluxia was still hanging on to those last shreds of hope that somehow, everything would turn out all right...Sora felt like he needed to keep Naminé safe. He assigned that role to the fake Riku and went to finish Marluxia for good."

The story-telling seemed to be taking a lot out of Axel. Roxas nodded attentively, showing that the tale had his full focus. "After Marluxia was gone, Sora had to make a choice. He could either keep the new, false memories, or get back the old ones at the cost of forgetting all about Castle Oblivion, Naminé, the Organization...everything. He chose to reclaim his old memories, which Naminé agreed to wholeheartedly. Sora remembered who Kairi was...he was going to sleep for an entire year, to allow Naminé to rearrange his memories the way they had been before. It was only at the very end that he was able to remember his friends."

"So Sora went to sleep, and only just woke up," said Roxas thoughtfully. "That was a year ago. But Riku...what happened to him, if the Riku that Sora met in the castle was only a fake?" "Ah, of course...Riku. It's a bit complicated. Remember, Zexion and Lexaeus were in charge of him. But they didn't know he was there straight off the bat...Ansem got to him first, and guided him through the castle. As he was there, Riku met Xehanort's heartless...you know...Ansem's apprentice. But the king came to save him, and for the rest of Riku's time in the castle, they were together."

"Anything important happen?" asked Roxas. "I'm coming to that. See, as Riku was running around the castle, Sora was, too—they just kept missing each other. Now, remember how I told you I disappeared after Sora defeated me? I didn't go anywhere special—I went to see Zexion. Then Marluxia fell to Sora, and Riku...Riku realized that the only memories he had left were dark ones. He was still struggling with the darkness inside him. But he embraced the darkness...in doing so, he was able to gain mastery over it. He realized that the Ansem that had been following him was actually DiZ—our Ansem—in disguise."

Axel released a deep breath. "Ansem showed Riku the way to Naminé, who showed him Sora...who was, by then, already asleep. Naminé told Riku about everything that had happened, and offered to lock his heart...but Riku refused. He wanted to be strong on his own. By locking the darkness inside him, Naminé could have kept Xehanort's heartless at bay...Riku would have forgotten all about him. But Riku wanted a chance to defeat him. The king was there...Ansem was there, as DiZ. He watched over Riku, as he defeated Xehanort's heartless. But a fragment was still left in his heart, and that fragment was what allowed Riku to take on the heartless's form."

Roxas knew that this story was drawing to a close. "So what happened after Riku won the battle?" "The king went with him to a crossroads...one with three paths: light, dark, and twilight. DiZ was there too, to watch over...and so Riku took the twilit path. That was the last anyone heard of him, for a while...and then it was found that he had DiZ had picked you up and put you into the data version of Twilight Town. And then you know the story."

A slow silence passed as Roxas absorbed this into his memory. "Okay. Now Sora is awake, and all of his memories are restored, as well as mine. Larxene, Vexen, Zexion, Lexaeus, and Marluxia are all gone, right? And he's forgotten everything about Naminé and the Organization. So...where do _we_ come in? What can we do?" he asked. "We can't do anything. Xemnas is out looking for us with the people he can still trust—mostly, Saïx. He hasn't got many left. Those still loyal to him are probably going to be deployed to get Sora to join them. Their old plan is still in action...with some new twists." Axel sighed.

"Axel...is...is it possible for me to see Naminé?" Roxas asked. "Do you know where she went after Sora woke up?" "I'd tell you if I knew, but I don't. I don't think Ansem's got her anymore, though. He only wanted her powers as long as they were of some use to him. She's probably somewhere else by now," said Axel. "I'm sorry, pal. If we've got time, I'll do what I can to help you find her, okay? But now's not the time. We have to get Sora to listen to us. If we can do that, we can save him—Roxas?!"

For Roxas had fallen to one knee, clutching the spot in his chest where his heart would have been. "Roxas, hey! Are you all right?" Axel jumped off his chair and hurried to his side, but Roxas waved him away. "I'm fine, I just..." He shook his head, getting to his feet. "Now that Sora's awake, I'm feeling whatever he feels. He must have been hurt by something..."

"You have to be careful," said Axel, looking worried. "It's only us two against all of them. If you're hurt...I don't know if I can do it on my own." "Don't say that; it's not true." Roxas painstakingly rose to his feet. "Sora will finish them off; sooner or later he'll find out that they're out to do him harm. It's only a matter of time." Roxas summoned the Keyblade and held it up above his head. "We have to find Naminé. I don't care what happens after that...I just know that we can't do anything without her."


	11. 10:realize

By: whitewingedsoldier

Rated: T

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the rights to Square-Enix, Disney, or any of their characters.

**Kingdom Hearts**

"**Somebody"**

**Roxas' Story**

_**10//realize**_

Roxas paced anxiously around the abandoned dining room in the mansion, awaiting Axel's return. His redheaded friend had gone away for a short while to prepare, leaving Roxas quite alone. _Where could Naminé be? DiZ—Ansem—doesn't need her anymore. So where would she go? Somewhere no one can bother her, I know that..._ He sighed, sinking into the same armchair he had been occupying earlier. _Everything is changing so fast._

As he mulled things over, Roxas found that there was much he did not understand. _I spent so much time in that data-based Twilight Town that I've fallen behind. The world could have ended and I wouldn't have known it,_ he realized. _But Axel's here now. And once we have Naminé, she can..._ He stopped in mid-thought. _What can she do for us? All I know is that she has the power to rearrange people's memories. And I don't think that can help us right now..._

A bizarre swirling sound from behind signaled Axel's return, and Roxas turned, happy to have someone to talk to. "So? What's the verdict?" asked Roxas, as Axel approached him. "Apparently, or at least from what I heard, they miss you—like that'll convince you to come back," sighed Axel. "They need you for something, but I don't know what. And they've been dispatched already." He sat down in the chair opposite Roxas.

"Where did they end up?" asked Roxas. "Xemnas is staying right where he is—he's not stupid enough to go running around when others can do that for him. I haven't heard anything about Xigbar, Xaldin's stationed at some castle in a forest...I think Saïx is with Xemnas, good old Demyx is at the coliseum, haven't heard from Luxord...and those are the only ones left anyways. Boy, either they're planning something big, or they're just stupid...there's barely anyone left."

Roxas folded his arms. "Did you learn anything about Naminé?" he asked. "If you want Naminé..." Axel's eyes met Roxas'. "We're going to need Kairi."

xxx

**One week later, after managing to return home...**

Roxas and Axel stood concealed in an alleyway back in the World that Never Was, peering around cautiously for signs that would indicate that they were being watched. "You stay here," Axel whispered to Roxas, who now donned a new black cloak. "I'll go get Kairi." "You sure she's going to listen to you?" Roxas asked, keeping his voice quiet. "No, but it's worth a shot. If I can get her back here, we'll see what happens..." He gave the thumbs-up to Roxas. "Keep a low profile 'til I get back, okay?" Roxas nodded, and slowly, Axel emerged from the alley.

But as Roxas shrank back against the wall, he heard the clicking of nails on the pavement, as though some kind of animal was approaching. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a bright orange dog follow Axel down the street. _A dog? Where did it come from? I've never seen it before._ Roxas waited until the dog was safely down the road, and then shot out from the alleyway.

He skidded to a stop at a dead end, and arrived just in time to see a flicker of dark energy escaping into the air. _Someone's opened a portal here,_ he thought. _Axel was a good...maybe...fifteen seconds ahead of the dog. So who opened it...and did the dog go through it?_ He came to a stop at the back of the wall, looking around. _No way to tell now._

"Roxas...Roxas, is that you?" A voice sounded behind him, and Roxas stiffened, turning around. "Who wants to know?" he demanded, forcing his voice to emerge roughly. Standing there was Demyx, looking genuinely surprised. "It _is_ you! Roxas! Where've you been? We've all been worried about you!" "Get away from me!" Roxas summoned the Oathkeeper and Oblivion, pointing them at Demyx. "It's not safe!"

"What are you talking about?" Demyx stepped closer. "No! Stay where you are!" Roxas shouted, tightening his grip on the Keyblades. "Don't come any closer!" "...Roxas? What's wrong? You're not acting like yourself." Demyx's face fell. "I'm not the Roxas you used to know," Roxas said, taking a step backwards. "I'm someone else now!"

"Roxas, no...don't. Listen to me. We need you," said Demyx, but Roxas shook his head firmly. "You don't need me!" he objected. "Everyone's been wondering where you were. It'd be great to have you back with us, you know...please come back, Roxas! It's not the same!" Demyx pleaded. "I'll fight you!" Roxas threatened. "I know what the Organization is up to now, okay? I don't want any part of it!" "So...that's the way it's going to be." Demyx looked crestfallen. "Okay...I just thought maybe you'd remember what it was like. See you around, Roxas...maybe the next time we meet, you'll change your mind." And he was gone.

_Demyx..._ Roxas gritted his teeth, letting the Keyblades fall to the ground. _I'm sorry...it wasn't supposed to be like this. But things are different now..._ His hands clenched into fists. _But why? Why can't it just go back to the way it was? I hate this...fighting against people that were supposed to be my friends. People who were supposed to take care of me...was it all just a lie? What if the reality I know isn't really reality at all? What if...Naminé was right...and I never _was_ supposed to exist?_

Roxas tilted his head back and let the rain fall onto his face, running over his cheeks and dripping off his bangs. _It'll never be the same. I just know I have to find Naminé, even if I have to do it myself. I'm sorry, Axel...I can't wait anymore. Kairi has nothing to do with me. It's Naminé I need to see right now. I don't know why...it's strange. But...my mind's made up. And if I have to fight Axel again over it, I don't care. I don't care about anything anymore. I have to get out of here._

Wondering when he would be back again, Roxas walked to the wall of the alley, placing a hand against the cool concrete and letting the darkness latch onto it. A black-and-violet rift opened, and Roxas stepped into it, not knowing exactly where it would take him. So what if the world was against him now. All that mattered was Naminé. She would have the answers...somehow.

xxx

Roxas was falling through bright light, his eyes tightly shut. _Where...am I...?_ He tried to reach out, but could only feel warm updrafts of air rushing through his outspread fingers. His clothes billowed in the wind, ruffling his hair. _And how long have I been here?_ He could feel himself slowing, and then, he stopped. His body hung in midair, dangling as though caught on an invisible hook.

_How did I even get here? How long has it been since I stepped into that portal...? Hours? Days...months..._ Roxas felt oddly at ease, floating there in the warmth and the light. _Maybe I died,_ he thought. _It's possible...I don't even know what's happening to me anymore. Or...I never really existed, did I? I'm just a Nobody...an empty shell. Did I fade away into the light?_ His lips twitched in a weak smile. _Naminé, you were wrong...you said I wouldn't disappear, but here I am..._

"Roxas...are you there?" A melodic voice reached his ears. _Yeah...it's me._ He tried to speak, but his lips would not move to form words. _Can you hear me? I can hear you... _He stretched out a hand, and found that he was touching something solid. "Open your eyes, Roxas. It's okay." Slowly, Roxas willed his eyes to open, and his eyelids fluttered apart.

He was floating upright in a strange white world; nothing was distinguishable, not even up from down. Although he could barely see anything, and even the outline of his hand was blurred around the edges, he saw now what he had touched—a hand. As he stared at the hand, its fingers interlocked with his, and he raised his head to find himself staring into the blue eyes of Naminé, who was smiling at him.

"You're here..." The temporary surprise that Roxas had felt transformed quickly into relief and joy. "You found me." Naminé nodded. "It took a while, but I sensed you, falling...I couldn't let you fade away. You're too important a person to let me do that." "I'm not even really a person, though...I'm nobody," said Roxas, averting his eyes. He broke the link with Naminé, who then spoke with compassion in her voice. "No, Roxas...you're _not_ nobody. You have the power to exist...you and I, we're the only two Nobodies who can say that."

"But look at me...I almost disappeared into the light. I'm just a Nobody...everyone else probably thinks so, too." He sighed, but then looked back into Naminé's eyes as he felt the soft touch of a hand on his cheek. "Roxas..." She smiled, her eyes sparkling. "You'll always be somebody to me."

If anything, it was the depth of these words that finally touched Roxas. They sank deep into his soul and permeated his remnants of a heart, and emotion flooded through him. Wordlessly, he reached out and wrapped his arms around Naminé, pulling her close. She did the same to him, lying her head on his shoulder. "It'll be all right. Even if I'm not always beside you, I'll always be with you. Don't ever forget...even when you're trapped...when you don't know what to do, or what to think. Think of me...and I'll be right there."

When Roxas opened his eyes again, he saw that the light was nearly blinding now. Naminé was pulling away from him, and withdrawing back into the whiteness that surrounded him. "No!" He reached out with his hand, his fingertips just barely brushing hers. "Don't go! There's still so much I wanted to ask you!" "It's like I said before...we'll meet again, very soon. Then we'll talk about it all. Remember me, Roxas...I'll remember you. I promise."

"Naminé!" But she was fading away; consumed by the light. The same light engulfed Roxas, sending him soaring upwards so that the wind fanned down onto his face. _Naminé...I won't forget you. _Tears were falling from his eyes and streaming down his cheeks. _I couldn't ever forget you. You've done so much for me...and there's something else, too. Something I don't think any other Nobody could ever say..._

Roxas opened his eyes, seeing her face flash before him one more time. _I love you._

xxx

Blinking, Roxas took a minute to focus. He could see and think and hear again, but not as clearly as he would have liked. He shook his head vigorously and opened his eyes wide, allowing the light to filter through. It was dark, but he could see. As he peered around, he deduced that he was in a large room, with no visible ceiling, floor, or walls. All he could see was a stool nearby and a large set of double doors, which stood at the opposite end of the room.

_Where is this?_ Roxas got to his feet, looking around. _This doesn't look familiar. And Naminé...I wonder where she went. But now I know she's involved. And I wonder what happened to Axel...did he get Kairi after all? _Slowly, Roxas crossed the room, walking up the immense doors. They were very intricately made, deep green in color, and several hundred times larger than he was. _What are these? And where do they lead?_

It was obvious from simply looking at the doors that they would not open with force. Roxas doubted he was strong enough to shove them open, and he could see no mechanism that would allow him to push or pull them. Sighing, he crossed the room again and sat down on the stool to think. _I wonder where I am. This looks like some kind of dungeon...where am I being held?_

A bizarre flash suddenly ran through Roxas' mind, and he faintly remembered holding a crystal up to the sun. _What...? Where did that come from?_ He shook his head to clear it, looking around. There were no signs of a disturbance. Sighing, Roxas slumped over and closed his eyes.

Roxas was not sure how much time he spent inside the dark room. No one ever came to get him, and no one spoke to him. When he was quiet and unmoving, he could feel strange emotions and see flashes of memories or scenes that were both familiar and unfamiliar. And just then Roxas thought he was about to go insane, someone spoke his name and ended it all.

"Roxas."

Roxas looked up at the ceiling, which was slowly fading into light. His head swiveled around to the doors, which were slowly creaking open. He turned to face them.

"Thank you...Sora."


	12. 11:finality

By: whitewingedsoldier

Rated: T

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the rights to Square-Enix, Disney, or any of their characters.

**Kingdom Hearts**

"**Somebody"**

**Roxas' Story**

_**11//finality**_

Once Roxas could see again, he wondered instantly if he was in a dream. He was in an enormous circular room, and the walls seemed nonexistant—the entire space-time continuum was spread out around him, stars and galaxies winking in the distance. Sitting on the floor, its arms around its knees, was a flickering image of someone Roxas knew very well.

"...Sora?" he asked, slowly approaching the image. Sora looked up at him, blue eyes meeting blue eyes. "Huh...? Who are you?" Sora rose to his feet, looking Roxas up and down. "I think it's the first time someone else has come here." "Where _is_ here?" asked Roxas, looking around. "This is the Etherland. It's where everything began...and someday, will end," said the image of Sora. "It's far from ending, but it's slowly inching its way there."

"I don't get it," said Roxas, shaking his head. "What do you mean?" "To put it more simply, this is Sora's heart," said the image of Sora. "I'm amazed you're here. It must be because you don't truly exist...you can move about the realms freely. But here in the Etherland, if you're not careful, you can slip and fall into the Great Beyond. So you'll need a guide...I'll be yours." As the image of Sora moved closer, Roxas could see that it was a hologram; he could see right through it to the other side of the room.

"Why am I here?" Roxas asked. "With you roaming the world, Sora cannot be whole," said the Sora-hologram. "Now that you are inside him, the process is beginning. In a matter of time, you and he will be one...just as before." _Naminé said I won't disappear,_ thought Roxas nervously. _I have to trust her. She'll come find me again when it's time for her to explain. Then I'll know everything._

"Is there...something I have to do here, to become whole?" asked Roxas of the hologram. "The memories...Sora's past. You have seen many of them, but you do not know what he is experiencing as we speak...or what he has experienced since his awakening. Fall...experience the Awakening." The hologram reached out and pushed Roxas, and though he expected its hand to pass right through him, it shoved him over the edge of the floor.

Panic spread through Roxas as he fell into the blackness beyond the room, but before he had time to be properly frightened, his feet slammed into the ground and he swayed, falling. Cautiously, he got up, looking around. _This looks a little familiar...but it's different,_ he thought, as he recognized his surroundings. He was standing in a dark room, on a stained glass platform of a beautiful princess this time instead of Sora. _It's like that day in the false Twilight Town._

As Roxas got his bearings, a mystical voice seemed to whisper in his ear, the words hanging in the air above him. **So much to do, so little time...** He looked around, but could not find the source. **Take your time. Don't be afraid. The door is still shut.** Roxas breathed in deeply. **Now, step forward. Can you do it?**

Slightly confused, Roxas walked forward two steps. He was temporarily blinded as three beams of light erupted into life before him, each bearing very familiar objects: a sword, a shield, and a staff. **If you give it form...it will give you strength. Choose well.** Instinctively, Roxas made to grab the sword, but stopped in mid-reach. _What can the others offer me? A staff...magic, I guess. And a shield...the power to protect others. _He looked towards the sword. _What I need right now is to be strong, not magical or protective. But...there is someone I want to protect._ An image of Naminé flashed before his eyes.

Without a second thought, Roxas snatched the shield and slid it onto his arm. **Now, what will you give up in exchange?** Surprise flooded through him. _I didn't have to sacrifice before. Well, I guess...I'll pick..._ He slowly walked over to the staff. _I need to have both defense and offense. I don't need magic to protect Naminé. I can do it on my own._ He touched the staff, and it disappeared. **Your path is set.**

A large crack appeared in the floor, and Roxas jumped backwards in alarm. But before he could do anything else, it shattered into pieces, forcing him to fall through. _Not again...!_ But, just as before, his feet hit the ground, and he managed not to fall this time. He had landed on another stained-glass princess, and the shield was in his hands. As time progressed, Roxas fought his way through a series of trials, and it was rather a long time before the voice spoke again.

**The day you will open the door is both far off and very near. **_What could that mean? _Roxas advanced up a set of stairs as he pondered it. _Right...this is Sora's memory. This is what happened to him...has he already opened the door, I wonder?_ He paused at the top of the stairs. **The closer you get to light, the greater your shadow becomes.**

Fear exploded inside Roxas as he realized that his shadow was looming behind him. **But don't be afraid...and don't forget...** In a half-panic, he knocked the shadow down, and was forced to succumb to the darkness swirling around him. **You hold the mightiest weapon of all.**

The last thing Roxas heard as he fell into the darkness was...

**So don't forget: You are the one who will open the door.**

Roxas' eyes shot open, and he found that he was lying on the floor in the Etherland, with the Sora-hologram standing over him. It allowed Roxas a moment to come to, and then asked, "So, what have you found?" "The door...did Sora open it yet?" asked Roxas. The hologram shook its head. "But the time is coming...very soon. When the door is open, the struggle will end. You and Sora will be whole...peace will be restored."

Just as Roxas had gotten to his feet, however, the entire ground pitched sharply, and he struggled to keep his balance. "What's going on?" "There is a chaotic struggle occuring outside," noted the Sora-hologram. "Here..." He placed a hand on Roxas' head, and a blinding flash of white light carried him off.

When Roxas could see again, it was as though he was looking through someone else's eyes—he could not move of his own accord, but was still moving. His breath was coming in ragged gasps. _What is this? _"What is this place?" Words issued from his mouth, but he had not wanted them to, and they were not in his voice. _Sora...? Am I seeing through Sora's eyes?_ "Well, which way should we go?" asked a different voice. "Riku! Kairi!" shouted Sora.

A flood of Nobodies suddenly hindered Roxas and Sora's vision, and as they looked around, Axel appeared out of nowhere, fending off a few. "Axel!" Roxas tried to shout, but he could not make his voice heard. "Get goin'!" Axel called to Sora, a determined look on his face that Roxas knew well. "Why?" asked Sora, and Axel shook his head. "Don't ask, just do it!" The Nobodies attacked then, pulling Axel to the ground. Roxas reached out, but Sora did not. Instead, he whipped out the Keyblade and chased the Nobodies away from Axel.

"You okay?" Sora asked of Axel. "I kidnapped Kairi," said Axel, and Roxas knew then that his plan had worked. "But she got away from me. After that, Saïx caught her. He's a member of Organization XIII. Saïx. Got it memorized? Now go save her!" Axel said harshly. A Dusk charged at them, only to be fended off by Sora. "Leave us alone!" he shouted at it.

Roxas watched helplessly as Sora and Axel fought the Nobodies, but to no avail. The two were surrounded, back-to-back, holding out their weapons and poised to strike. "I think I liked it better when they were on my side," said Axel to Sora, who smirked. "Feeling a little...regret?" he asked. "Nah, I can handle these punks. Watch this!" said Axel, rising up into the air, flames twisting around him. "NO!" Roxas screamed from inside Sora's mind, but he could do nothing except look on as a spectator. He knew what Axel was doing; the redhead had told him a long time ago. _But to use it now...that must mean he has no other choice..._

When the fire had dissipated, the Nobody swarm was gone. "Whoa!" marveled Sora, looking around at the clear area before him. Roxas spotted Axel before Sora did, lying motionless on the floor. Sora lifted his head and noticed him, running to his side and kneeling down. _No...Axel, why...there was another way! You didn't have to do this!_ thought Roxas, tears streaming down his cheeks. Fragments were gently drifting upwards from Axel's body, disappearing into the air.

"You're...fading away..." Sora's voice was quiet. Axel managed a smile. "Well, that's what happens when you put your whole being into an attack. You know what I mean?" He laughed weakly. "Not that Nobodies actually _have_ beings...right? Anyway, I digress. Go, find Kairi. Oh, almost forgot...sorry for what I did to her." His voice sounded so forced, so broken, that it pained Roxas to hear it.

"When we find her, you can tell her that yourself," said Sora firmly. Roxas felt a warm rush of gratitude towards him. "Think I'll pass," said Axel, his voice growing quieter by the second. "My heart just wouldn't be in it, you know? Haven't got one." He laughed again, softly. "Axel...what were you trying to do?" asked Sora, looking down at him.

"I wanted to see Roxas," said Axel, and Roxas felt his entire body constrict with horrible grief. "He...was the only one I liked...he made me feel...like I had a heart." Roxas' body was shaking with sobs. _Axel..._ "It's kind of...funny...you make me feel...the same..." Axel's voice caught in his throat, and he stopped. "Kairi's in the castle dungeon. Now, go." He held up a hand, and with the remnants of his strength, opened a portal.

"Axel..." Sora watched sadly, and Roxas turned away, as Axel faded away into nothingness, the final pieces of his body and soul crumbling away into dust, as though taken by a breath of wind. Roxas was convulsing with the force of his sorrow, which was so intense he felt as though it would swallow him whole. _Axel is gone...my very best friend. I never knew he would do all that for me...just to see me. I'm sorry, Axel...I hope it's better where you are._

As Roxas pulled away from his coexistance with Sora, he could see a familiar sight through his original's eyes: a heart-shaped moon, behing a floating castle...


	13. 12:road's end

By: whitewingedsoldier

Rated: T

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the rights to Square-Enix, Disney, or any of their characters.

**Kingdom Hearts**

"**Somebody"**

**Roxas' Story**

_**12//road's end**_

Roxas dropped to the ground with a heavy thud, his shoes touching down on pavement. He did not even have to look to know where he was. _Sora is here too,_ he thought. _Finally, we're at the same place, at the same time. _He pulled up the hood of his black cloak, and held out a hand to summon the Nobodies. A mass of sword-wielding Samurai responded to his call, rising silently from the ground like ghosts from the grave.

_I have to test him. I need to know if he's good enough. I need answers...and I'm going to find them here. _He shrouded himself in the shadows and lay in wait. _Axel died trying to see me,_ he thought. _The least I can do is finish what he started. I won't let Xemnas put his plan into action. And only Sora can finish the entire job...so I have to make sure he's competent. And...I want to know...why the Keyblade chose him in the first place._

The sound of footsteps soon reached Roxas' ears, and he summoned his Keyblades, waiting. A rumble of thunder split the sky open, and the ground was illuminated by a flash of lightning. _Now,_ thought Roxas.

He raised a hand and snapped his fingers.

Immediately, the Nobodies sprang into action. "Sora!" cried a voice, and Roxas turned to see the Samurai blocking Sora from his friends. "Donald! Goofy!" he cried. Roxas activated his power, and watched with triumph as Sora stopped in the middle of attempting to run to his companions. He turned, and Roxas stepped into the light. _Sora...this is the first time we've met for real._

Roxas raised the hand holding the Oblivion, and surprise fluttered across Sora's face. "A Keyblade?" Roxas gave him no time to prepare. He rushed Sora, who summoned his own Keyblade just in time to block. Roxas called forth the bulk of his power and, when Sora opened his eyes, the both of them had been transferred to Roxas' site of Awakening, the Station of Serenity.

Sora and Roxas rushed each other, and now Roxas was holding both Keyblades. The sound of steel on steel filled their ears. "Wh-Who are you?" Sora demanded, as Roxas pushed his Keyblade away. "Someone from the dark," answered Roxas, slightly surprised as Sora pushed him away. "You can't be Riku?" he asked. "Riku?" asked Roxas, in mock confusion. "I defeated a Riku once."

"You what?!" Sora asked, disbelief on his face. "Tell me...tell me why he picked you!" Roxas cried, running towards Sora, his Keyblades dragging on the floor with metallic screeches. He swung at Sora, who sidestepped, and then blocked the Oblivion as it came swinging down. Roxas swung the Oathkeeper, but was blocked once more. _Not bad,_ he thought.

They traded blows for awhile, until Roxas leapt upwards, spiraled, and came down on his feet. He jumped towards Sora, who jumped upwards to dodge. The Oblivion came crashing up to meet him and tossed him into the air, and Roxas leapt to follow. They came towards one another, upside down, their blades meeting in a shower of sparks. Sora gracefully landed back down on the floor, while Roxas remained in the air, watching.

"I see. That's why," said Roxas, in a completely calm voice. He landed down on his feet and rushed Sora, who jumped backwards as Roxas lunged to attack. He danced backwards, avoiding Roxas' blows, finally taking cover under the Keyblade as Roxas battered it mercilessly with Oathkeeper and Oblivion. But not even Sora could keep it up forever. His knee gave way, and he sank to the ground, his Keyblade flying out of his hand and screeching angrily across the glass to the other side of the room.

Sora ran towards the Keyblade in an attempt to retrieve it, but Roxas blocked his path, slamming Oathkeeper down between Sora and the fallen weapon. Sora skidded to a stop on his knees, and Roxas swept the Oblivion to his throat. _Not bad, but he still can't beat me,_ thought Roxas. Obviously enraged, Sora thought for a moment, and then stretched out a hand. The Keyblade vanished from where Roxas had trapped it and reappeared in Sora's grip.

Roxas looked down in alarm. "What?!" But in looking down, Roxas had left himself wide open to attack—Sora slashed at him, landing a direct hit. Roxas felt the blade swipe across his chest, but strangely, felt no pain. The Keyblades dropped from his grasp and hit the floor, disappearing as they did so. Roxas stumbled past Sora, his cloak catching so that his hood slipped off his head. _It doesn't matter anymore,_ he thought, standing upright.

Slowly, Roxas turned around to face Sora, calling off the darkness that overpowered them. "You make a good other," he stated, just as the light carried him away. And then he was gone.

xxx

Roxas' eyes opened again some time later, and he found himself back in the same room with the stool and the doors. This time, however, the room was much brighter. He could see the walls and floor now, and a bit of the ceiling. _This must mean...it's not long now,_ thought Roxas, pushing himself up to a standing position. _Sora will get through the castle, save Kairi, and defeat Xemnas...and then destroy his master plan. And then what?_

Sighing, Roxas resigned himself to waiting patiently within Sora's mind. He could hear his name being repeated, over and over again, by many different voices. All were familiar. _They think I'm a traitor_, he thought. _Because I helped Axel. All I wanted to do was find the truth..._

An alarmingly bright flash of light shot through the room then, illuminating it fully. Roxas stood, looking around in confusion. _Something happened,_ he realized. _Something that involves me._ The light grew brighter and brighter, until once more it swallowed Roxas, pulling him in completely.

How much time passed between then and the next time Roxas could hear again, no one knew. Drowsily, Roxas opened his eyes to find himself floating in the light again, though this time he did not feel as if though he was about to fade away. No, this time he felt as if he was merely waiting for something. And wait he did. Something large, something important was happening.

Another bright flash of light obscured Roxas' senses, and when he could see again, he realized something bizarre was happening to his body. He raised a hand up to eye level and was horrified to see that he could look through it. _I'm becoming translucent...why? Am I fading away?_ But even with this new realization, Roxas was strangely calm. _It's not so bad. I don't feel scared...I'll just fall into the light, and maybe I'll be with Axel when I wake up again._

But then Roxas heard a voice—a wonderful, warm voice that he thought he would never hear again. "Sure. See? We meet again, like we promised." _That voice...it's Naminé! She's here...she saved me again._ Roxas smiled and opened his mouth to speak to her. "You said we'd meet again, but when we did, we might not recognize each other."

The whiteness faded away within a second, and Roxas found his translucent form standing with Sora and his friends on a raised platform. A smiling Naminé stood across from him. "I did, didn't I?" Naminé asked, her smile growing wider. "But I knew you," said Roxas, slightly puzzled. Naminé nodded. "Mmm...it's strange." "I think I understand," Roxas said. "I see myself the way you remember me. And you see yourself the way I remember you."

"I always thought Nobodies were doomed to fade back into darkness..." Naminé's voice trailed off. "Yeah, but you and I didn't," said Roxas excitedly. "We got to meet our original selves." "So we can be together again!" finished Naminé. Roxas walked to her side, and then turned to face Sora, who still looked confused. "Right. Anytime Sora and Kairi are together."

"We'll be together every day. Right, Sora?" asked Kairi. "Uh...yeah!" Sora said, nodding. Naminé stretched out her hand to Kairi, who took it, and both began to glow with a golden light. Roxas watched as Naminé disappeared, fading into Kairi. And then it was his turn. "Look sharp!" he said to Sora, who stood tall and proud as Roxas closed his eyes, allowing himself to float inside Sora's body once more...though, this time as a whole person, and not just a Nobody. As he saw the light glowing warmly around him, he smiled. He was whole.

Roxas remained floating in the light for some time before he was allowed one final vision—a clear blue sky, adorned with pure white clouds. Palm trees lined a sandy shore, and an ocean lapped behind him as he looked up into Naminé's face—a face that would be with him always. A face he would never forget. As Roxas' being overlapped with Sora's, fading back into the sense of wholeness that it had once been, Roxas closed his eyes with contentment. Now, he had a life. Now, he had a future. Now...he was somebody.

_**somebody//fin**_

**Thanks go to everybody who reviewed or even just read this fanfiction; it's one of my very favorites. Your praise and encouragement kept me going until we finally reached this point! It's good to know that there are people who support each other in this crazy world, so keep at it! I love you all!!!**

**-White**


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